The Edgy Veg has done it again! Vegan blogger Candice Hutchings is on a mission to recreate "familiar favorites" from her non-vegan childhood, and this time she's concocted a vegan replacement for Southern fried chicken, similar to the delicious flavors found at a Popeye's restaurant.
Watch the video below to see Hutchings prepare her "chicken" with vital wheat gluten and lots of spices.
Vegan Popeyes Bonafide Fried Chicken Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Yield: 6-8 "chicken" pieces
IngredientsChicken2 cups vital wheat gluten (seitan)
5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder or poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup hot sauce
3 tablespoons bouillon
5 tablespoons tahini
6 cups vegetable broth
Coating2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Sauce3 eggs' equivalent of egg replacer
1/3 cup hot sauce
1 tablespoon mustard
Oil for frying
Directions1. In large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine dry ingredients (seitan, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder or poultry seasoning, salt).
2. In separate bowl, whisk together water, hot sauce, bouillon and tahini.
3. Carefully dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients and knead mixture until well combined; add gluten flour if dough is too sticky.
4. Remove from bowl. Break off pieces of mixture and form into "chicken pieces," keeping in mind that the end result will be about twice as large as the shapes you form now.
5. Bring vegetable broth to a boil. Add chicken pieces and simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring every fifteen minutes.
6. Remove pieces from broth and set on baking rack to dry. Pieces should be a bit spongy, so coating can stick to them.
7. Combine all coating ingredients (flour, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, white pepper, onion powder, paprika, sugar) in shallow bowl.
8. In small bowl, combine sauce ingredients (egg replacer, hot sauce, mustard) and mix thoroughly.
9. Bread the chicken pieces by coating first with flour mixture, then with sauce, then with flour mixture again. Set each piece aside until they are all breaded.
10. Heat oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176.7 degrees Celsius) in skillet or deep fryer.
11. Fry the pieces for 8-12 minutes or until coating is crispy and light brown in color. Remove from oil with tongs and drain on paper towels.
Hutchings advises that it is difficult to make a gluten-free version of seitan, but one of the comments on her
blog noted a
gluten-free seitan recipe. Other suggested gluten-free seitan substitutes include: jack fruit, rice and beans with xanthan gum, and cauliflower.
