This week for Hive Top Chef The topic is Crispy and Crunchy.
Although I could make a post about crispy and crunchy vegetables, I would probably bore myself while doing it. I would also bore others.
This was my excuse to make a sinfully fun and delicious substitute for what I used to love back in the old meat eating bar and pub days.
There was a general pub fare that often included chicken fingers, most likely served with plum sauce or honey mustard. This was also a popular kids menu item. I personally think kids should not have the least healthy food on the menu but that's just me.
I have been meaning to try this for a while so now I have an excuse. There goes the diet!
For the chicken substitute I could use a variety of things, such as tofu, mushrooms, seitan or store bought and ready made chicken substitute.
I chose to make seitan, which is made from vital wheat gluten. This has been consumed for years by vegetarians in the East. Now it's become a vegan staple.
I used to be reluctant to make this each time, because of the kneading. I have learned that a food processor or stand mixer can make it easy and super fast.
I don't have a stand mixer so I used a processor. This worked just fine but a stand mixer would be that much better.
This recipe was inspired by several recipes that I researched and experimented with. There are many many ways that seitan is made. There are many different ingredients that can go into it.
Seitan chic-UN
Vital wheat gluten 300g
Chickpeas 400g can include liquid
Nutritional yeast 40g
White miso paste 1 tablespoon
Agave nectar 1 teaspoon
Cider vinegar 1 tablespoon
White pepper 1 teaspoon
Onion powder 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Start with adding salt to the dry ingredients and tasting. Add salt to the wet ingredients and taste. The miso paste is salty so make sure you balance the salt of dry ingredients with the wet. It will be difficult to remove or add salt after it is processed. If the final product is not salty enough, add salt to the coating mixture.
Put all of the ingredients in the processor or mixer and mix until dough comes loose from the sides.
When it comes out of the machine I give it a short knead to shape it.
I don't like to keep it in the processor too long because of the blades. I just keep it in until the items are incorporated. With a stand mixer it can stay in until it's smooth.
After making sure the dough was nice and together, I put it in a parchment paper.
I wrapped it into a loaf tightly to put in the steamer.
This can be just boiled in vegetable broth which is common. I do it both ways, but I find that steaming keeps it more firm then boiling. It depends on what you will do with it. It also depends on how it's been seasoned. This had a good seasoning before it was cooked. That happens with careful tasting of the dough.
I steamed it on medium low for over an hour. It is difficult to overcook in my opinion and from my experience. You will see it plump up and firm up as it cooks.
The taste was spot on and I was very happy with it. It was perfectly salted so I did not add salt to the batter and breading.
This was better than store bought seitan chicken which costs quite a bit. I know there are folks that would not approve of fake meat. I respect that. For me I miss certain things I used to eat so recreating the plant based version satisfies the cravings for the old foods.
Vital wheat gluten can be expensive but so can meat. I only use one kind called Bob's Red Mill. Other brands have disappointed me with the taste being strong. If this is seasoned properly, that particular taste is no longer there.
The coating
Cornflakes
Vegan yogurt
Flour
Soy milk
Lemon juice
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Oregano
Thyme
Mix the wet ingredients together.
Crush the cornflakes. I just put them in a blender for a second making sure it was a little crumbly and not too powdery.
First add the pieces into the flour which has had the seasonings added.
Carefully add the flour coated pieces to the wet mixture.
Add the pieces to the crumbs for the last step.
When you do this procedure make sure you use one hand in for the dry ingredients and the other for the wet. Or like I did I used small tongs.
Fry in hot oil. I don't have a thermometer so I just wait until the oil is for sure hot. I'm sure you all know about that.
Unlike real chicken, this doesn't dry out fast, as it cooks.
For the sauce I simply mixed Dijon mustard with cider vinegar and agave. I used a cup of mustard a tablespoon of vinegar and agave to suit my taste for sweetness. I added a little onion powder and pepper as well.
The perfect accompaniment was coleslaw made from cabbage and carrots.
I kid you not, if a meat eater had this, they may be fooled. I used to have chicken nuggets from McDonald's many years ago, and it really didn't taste different. I'm sure there were plenty of fillers in with the meat anyway.
This was sinful but worth having on a day off from work, while it thunders outside.
The only thing that was missing from the nostalgia of this dish, was a tall cold beer. The days of beer in the early afternoon, are gone.
Thanks for dropping by and have a great day.
design by: @KidSisters
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This vegan recipe looks delicious .... thanks for sharing
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Thank you.
I love your inspiration and creativity, all your dishes are great, your beautiful energy transcends the screen.
I send you the biggest of hugs, I wish you a wonderful evening! @carolynstahl
Your nice comments are always a wonderful thing to make my day. Thank you very much. Big hug to you and warm wishes!
Thank you very much!
Wow! If you don't know the ingredients you will really assume it is meat. It looks so delicious and yummy.
I was really pleased with this. It was so much like the chicken I remember from 18 years ago. Thank you so much.
Great recipe, it looks pretty great sin-food and the dip and salad go well together.
😯 What do you do instead now?
Hahaha!!!! I wait a few hours now lol😄
Extremely sin-food but worth it.
hi.. I like the way you prepare this food, I like the ingredients you use especially the use of soy milk. this is a healthy and filling dish @carolynstahl
I appreciate your nice comment @maytom. The only thing is that it is not healthy at all but yes very filling.
Thank you!
You are very right, even children should eat healthy, especially since there are more and more children in a state of obsession
I loved the idea of how to replace the chicken
thank you very much for sharing this recipe
have a great dayHow are you dear friend @carolynstahl good morning
It's always a pleasure to be rewarded with your lovely comments.
Thank you my friend. I wish you all the best!
Oh, I so love this dish. It's like a meat. It will always make my tummy happy. Aside from its delicious taste, it's also healthy.
Thank you so much for the great compliment. Let's get one thing straight. It is not healthy at all. It was what I call eating fun haha.
Who would have thought a healthy food could look as perfect and as tempting as this?😊 And, the plating is superb!👏
It's definitely not healthy, because it's fried but I appreciate that you see it this way haha. Thank you for your generous comment!
I got so hungry
I'll take that as a compliment haha.
love eating crunchy food 😍
Haha crunchy is always fun!
This looks amazingly tasty!! It’s a perfect and healthy meal for a lunch or a nice dinner!! Thanks a lot for sharing!
It was very very tasty and fun to eat, but the opposite of healthy haha!
Thank you very much.😊
Wow, these look amazing, the presentation and photos are quality and make me really want to taste them! I'll get the next flight over ✈️ 🤣
Haha, I would gladly share but I know you can make really delicious food without a long flight.😄
Ha ha, for sure! I'll definitely be trying this recipe or a version of it. Thanks 👍
looks amazing :)
Thank you so much @paprik
They look absolutely delicious, and I love the way you used seitan to create a vegan version of a classic dish.
They felt so much like chicken from a fast food place it was almost scary. Seitan doesn't always work for me but this time I got it right. 😊
Without a doubt, this is crispy and crunchy! I've never used seitan. I guess it makes the chickpea dough softer. I love chickpeas. I'm so curious about the taste and texture of these version of chick-UN strips and more because your dish looks so glorious.
I also think if there's going to be a section for kids on the menu, it should be healthy food, fun but mainly healthy. However, what we see is that almost everything there is fried and has a lot of sugar.
Glad you can honor your bar and pub days. May they come back! A little more fun for a hardworking woman. Big hug, my friend 💚😁🌿
Once everything is mixed and seasoned, you can't taste the chickpeas anymore. It just adds a little liquid and texture to the dough. I have to admit if someone served them to me, I would have to question if they gave me real chicken. It's been almost 2 decades since I've had real chicken haha.
The pub days are taking place in my apartment after work. It's less expensive and I don't have to talk to a server hahah.
Thank you my friend!😊💚
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What an incredible presentation of the dish and preparation. The photos are beautiful, congratulations, thank you very much for sharing the recipe with us. Greetings, blessings and much success!
You are very kind and I really appreciate those lovely compliments. Thank you and blessings to you as well.
Hello, it is a marvel of color and texture what is appreciated in your dish. Oh, how I would love to try some 😁😋
I would love to share. I appreciate your compliment my friend thank you.
WOWWW!!! I am so amaze by ypur cooking skills💖 i am a foodie and your food makes me drool💗 I really love it💗
I am thankful for your compliment. I really don't have more cooking skills then most cooks here on hive, but thank you so much.
You're welcome😊💖
Hi, You made it better than anybody does. Very delicious and nutritious I think. I bought some agave syrup and nutritional yeast from NH. ay one day I will try it. well done dear friend thanks for sharing
A hug💖😋
Yes it's delicious but deep fried foods are not nutritious, just fun to eat haha.
Thank you my friend. 😊❤️
I knew so we try to avoid oily food. But here I saw getting more support for oily food. So some time better to try that. I don't know. anyway, it looks nice.🌝
You eat a much more nutritious diet than I do. I can learn from you.
This is so appertizing @carolynstahl . Always inspiring us with unique dishes. This recipe looks so great. Thank you so much for all the inspiration. Sending lots of love to you 💞💫.
Aww thank you for your support and lovely comment. Sending love back my friend.❤️