Vegan Fried Chicken
Vegan fried chicken, made with seitan and battered in a mix of herby, smoky goodness makes a real treat. Especially when served with fries – or even pancakes!
Servings 8 pieces
Calories 304kcal
Ingredients
For the vegan fried chicken:
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon chicken seasoning
- 140 g extra firm tofu it's really important to press this for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight
For the stock:
- 12 cups vegetable stock
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 carrot – large, unpeeled and roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 teaspoon chicken seasoning
- 1 teaspoon thyme – dried
- 1 teaspoon parsley – dried
For the batter:
- 1 cup plain flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups oat milk
For the dry coating:
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Lots of ground nut oil for frying
Instructions
For the vegan fried chicken:
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180c
- Put the vital wheat gluten, onion powder and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl1 cup vital wheat gluten, 2 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Add the water, miso paste, rapeseed oil, salt, chicken seasoning and tofu into a blender – whizz up until smooth⅔ cup water, 1 tablespoon white miso, 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon chicken seasoning
- Scoop the tofu mix into the bowl and combine well with the dry ingredients140 g extra firm tofu
- Place the dough in a food processor or mixer (with the appropriate attachment) and mix for one full minute. You can knead by hand if you prefer – vigorously for 4 minutes. The kneading is very important so don't skip it!
- Cut the dough into 8 even pieces. Stretch each piece of dough out until it's about to tear, then let it contract - you'll end up with something 'chicken-y' shaped. It should be lumpy and uneven so don't try smooth it out
- Put in a non-stick roasting tray and cook for 10 mins, turn then cook for another 10 mins. Take out once done.
For the stock:
- In a large pan add all of ingredients and bring to the boil12 cups vegetable stock, 2 teaspoon onion powder, 1 carrot, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 4 teaspoon chicken seasoning, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon parsley
- Add chicken pieces into the stock and immediately reduce heat so it's at a gentle simmer
- Cook for 20 mins turning the pieces occasionally. It's very important not to overdo or under-do the temperature, it needs to be a gentle simmer
- Take the pan off the heat and leave chicken to cool in the stock for a few hours
- Transfer chicken to tupperware and add a ¼ cup of broth to each pot you use
- Refrigerate overnight – minimum of 8 hours. Take 'chicken' out of fridge, remove from stock and pat dry and let it come up to room temperature before frying
For the batter:
- Whisk batter ingredients together until smooth. It will be quite a thick batter – like a thick smoothie1 cup plain flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ½ cups oat milk
For the dry coating:
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl1 ½ cups plain flour, 2 teaspoon onion powder, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
To finish the vegan fried chicken:
- If you have a deep fryer set it to 180c. If you don't heat a sufficient amount of groundnut oil in a large pan or wok to the same temperature - if you don't have a thermometer you're going to need to wing it a bit here...just get it nice and hot and use your best judgement!
- Cover each piece in the dry mixture, then the batter (completely covered) and then the dry mixture again. It should be evenly coated
- Put into the hot oil for 2-3 minutes on each side. The batter will turn a lovely golden brown colour
- Once done, place on a plate lined with kitchen roll to get rid of excess oil, and serve!
Nutrition
Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2630mg | Potassium: 227mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1658IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 183mg | Iron: 4mg