Vegan Spicy Fried "Chicken"

It's not hard to love some fried, crispy, savory, spicy seitan. This one mimics the taste of fried chicken petty well- it's got lots of flavour from both the seitan itself and the flour used to encrust it before frying. And while I have no idea what real Popeye's chicken tastes lie (the original recipe I used from The Edgy Veg was based on it) I can safely say that these are delicious.

Though the process of making the seitan, boiling it, flouring and frying it is pretty time consuming, I think the end result is definitely worth the effort. The seitan is juicy and flavourful and the outside is crispy and perfectly spiced.

I would serve these alongside some mashed potatoes and corn-on-the-cob, but I don't think these bad boys would be unwelcome at any meal.

Vegan Spicy Fried "Chicken"
Source Recipe by The Edgy Veg

For the Seitan "Chicken":
2 C. Vital wheat gluten
5 TBSP Tahini paste
5 TBSP Nutritional yeast flakes
2 Tsp. Onion powder
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Poultry seasoning/spices
1 C. Vegetable or chicken-flavoured broth
1/2 C. Vinegar-based cayenne hot sauce, or more broth

Mix dry ingredients well and add the wet ingredients. Knead for 10-15 minutes, or until a stringy, cohesive dough forms. You may need a bit more vital wheat gluten to make the dough firm enough.

Cut into small, chicken nugget-sized pieces- they will grow to about twice their size during cooking.

To Boil:
6-8 C. Vegetable or chicken-flavoured stock

Bring to a rolling boil- not too vigorous and bubbly, or else the seitan will swell up and absorb too much liquid. Place the pieces of seitan into the liquid carefully and make sure they're covered by the broth. Simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, the let drain and dry off on a baking rack.

For the Binder:
3 Eggs worth of egg replacer (about 1/3 C. liquid)
1/2 C. Hot sauce, same as used above
1 TBSP mustard

Whisk all together well. Dip the seitan pieces in before adding to the below flour mixture:

Flour Mixture:
2 C. Flour
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Cayenne pepper
1 Tsp. Marjoram or oregano
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp sugar
¼ chipotle powder

Ensure all are well whisked together before adding the seitan pieces dipped into the binder. Ensure they are well-coated all over in the mixture.

To Fry: Plenty of a good frying oil such as canola or sunflower 

Heat up oil in a large wok, skillet or deep fryer to about 180℃. Add as many pieces of seitan as will fit comfortably and fry until crispy and golden, flipping halfway through- this takes 10-15 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary when cooking to ensure that the oil doesn't smoke but remains hot enough to sizzle.

Drain finished pieces of excess oil on paper towel. Serve warm with your favourite sides.