Hello friends and not-yet-friends,
Welcome back to Mary's Test Kitchen, where we make bomb vegan food and this vegan fried
chicken is no exception.
In fact, this might be the best vegan fried chicken ever.
With perfectly seasoned deep-fried or oven-fried crunchy goodness on the outside and juicy
vegan meat on the inside, this is one recipe you're going to want on repeat.
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To make this vegan chicken recipe work for you and become the best vegan fried chicken
you've ever had, you'll need some medium firm or traditional tofu.
This is the secret to creating the almost creepy chicken-like texture.
Part of it.
The other part, is to freeze it; not just once but twice.
Medium firm (or Traditional style) tofu, produces a tender texture without that grainy feeling.Freezing
and thawing a second time makes the tofu more sturdy so you can press the water out without
the whole thing disenigrating.
I'm using a tofu-making mould to squeeze as much water out as possible while keeping it
as intact as possible.
You can use a tofu press if you have one.
But with care, you can do this between two cutting boards.
And get the last of it with clean kitchen towels.
This stuff is delicate so be gentle.
Pull the layers apart and let natural breaks form to create little cutlets or nuggets.
Is your mind blown or is your mind blown?
You've got to share this technique everywhere.
Pin this video, tweet it, share it on your page, your facebook groups, reddit or where
ever you hang out online.
Even if you think you don't like tofu; this changes everything!
These layers hide spaces inside so we can add some amazing flavours that will sink deep
inside and obliterate any trace of beaniness.
Eventually, you'll have around 8 large chunks, give or take, but you'll also have some bitsies.
Don't worry; we won't waste anything.
Just let that sit on a clean lint-free cloth or paper towels while we get our super crispy,
crunchy breading ingredients ready.
We'll do a three step dredge starting with a cup of gluten-free flour.
You'll find a huge selection of gluten-free flours on Thrive Market, just use the gf button
to filter easily and away you go.
I really like Bob's Red Mill One to one gluten-free baking flour for this recipe.
It'll give us the perfect balance between crispy and crunchy without adding any weird
flavours that some gf flours have.
We'll season the flour with a half teaspoon of white pepper,
a teaspoon of salt,
a teaspoon of garlic powder,
a teaspoon of onion powder,
and last, but most definately not least, nutritional yeast.
AKA nooch.
AKA manna from heaven that makes everything taste delicious.
Mix it up and set it aside.
The second part of the dredge is a vegan egg coating.
I'm using Follow Your Heart's Vegan Egg mix.
Just mix it with water.
Two tablespoons of vegan egg powder and a half cup of ice cold water.
At first.
Mix it until there are no lumps.
We want this vegan egg wash to be a bit thinner so add a quarter cup more water.
Now, we're ready to start transforming our tofu.
With a cup of double strength vegan chicken-style broth.
Use any kind you like but make it with double the amount of paste or powder normally called
for.
Dump the tofu in and press so it soaks up the broth.
Drain away any excess.
Now we're ready to dredge.
First, the seasoned flour.
Be gentle and cradle that tofu like a butterfly baby.
Shake off the excess flour and set the pieces on a baking sheet or plate.
With the bitsies, just dump them in the flour too.
Squeeze them together into bigger clumps.
When we're finished the first step, we'll have all this extra seasoned flour.
Only it's not extra.
We'll add a cup of organic sprouted brown rice crisps.
Relieve some tension and let that brown rice know who's boss.
Just break down some of it but chill.
Don't go overboard.
This will take the crunch level of our vegan fried chicken to new heights.
Give the vegan egg a quick mix, then we're ready to dip.
Dunk, let the excess drip off,
then, into the seasoned flour and rice crisps.
Gently cover them.
And place them back on your baking sheet.
Things might get messy but you will overcome.
Life lessons.
Before long, you'll have a tray full, ready to be deep-fried to golden perfection.
I'm using a wok because I love it, but any sturdy pot with a good thick bottom for even
heat distribution should work.
Gently lower your breaded tofu in one piece at a time, careful not to splash yourself.
Don't crowd them but work in batches so the oil temperature doesn't drop too much.
It'll take five minutes for these to turn golden brown and crispy crunchy.
Ocasionally turn them as they cook.
Then take them out and drain on paper towels or a wire rack.
Then the next batch goes in.
But let's say, for some reason you just don't want to deep fry.
All you need to do is drizzle or spray a bit of oil on to your breaded tofu and pop them
into a 425 degree Farenheit oven for 30 minutes, flipping once at the halfway minute mark.
I'll show you how those turn out at the end of this video.
And now you have, beautiful vegan fried chicken that is crunchy on the outside, juicy on the
inside, and super flavourful.
It will smell so good, you'll want to dig in right away, but let it rest at least five
minutes.
At least.
Eat them as is or with some sauce.
I'm going to make one I'm currently in love with and is full of healthy spices and fermented
ingredients.
Sauerkraut.
Plus gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes.
Gochujang, Korean red pepper paste, isn't gluten-free so if you're avoiding gluten,
use gluten-free sriracha or you can even use ketchup or a combination.
Soy sauce or tamari.
Brown sugar.
And some liquid from the sauerkraut to help everything blend.
Lastly, organic garlic powder.
This sauce is so good.
Garlicky, savory, a little sweet and more than a little spicy.
Which made me want a cooling yogurt dip.
You can make your own yogurt from scratch with this vegan yogurt starter...and I am
but that will take a few more days...so in the meantime, we can make a sort of instant
yogurt.
With silken tofu.
And sauerkraut again.
The lactic acid helps to give a yogurty flavour instantly.
Crunchy, juicy vegan fried chicken, spicy sauce, and cooling yogurty dip.
There are few things more perfect.
That juicy interior holds heat.
And layers.
Chicken-y layers.
The more intact the tofu was going in, the more meat-like the result will be.
The ones that were crumbly and piecey going in will have more starch in between giving
you a texture that is more like chicken balls than chicken tenders.
But it's all delicious.
But the oven-fried version?
Pretty darn good in it's own right too.
The exterior is super crunchy as well, the inside is juicy.
It just doesn't have that distinctly amazing deep-fried flavour.
Better for weeknights as the clean up is much easier and quicker.
So which will you choose?
Oven-fried or deep fried?
Plain or sauced?
Either way, make this and your life will be changed for the better!
You know what else will change your life for the better?
Clicking the link below for 25% off your first purchase of premium healthy groceries from
Thrive Market with a 30 day free trial membership and free shipping.
Thanks again to Thrive Market for sponsoring this video, helping me create mind-blowing
vegan recipes for you!
I hope you enjoyed this video; please give it a thumbs up if you did and share it everywhere!
It's just so good.
You have to make this and share it with your friends and family and let them taste how
amazing vegan food can be.
Plus take pics and tag me on instagram.
It thrills me to see you make my recipes.
What else would you like me to veganize?
Let me know in the comments below!
Bye for now!