A delicacy that has been washed away: make your own vegan chicken
Whether it’s tofu dumplings or sliced peas: More and more people are turning to meat substitutes. According to the 2021 food report of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the percentage of people who eat vegetarian food doubled from 5 to 10 percent last year. 2 percent of Germans also say they eat vegan food – a year ago it was 1 percent. About one in three people in Germany buy plant-based alternatives to animal products “more often”.
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If you like chicken but don’t eat meat, you don’t necessarily need to use store-bought substitutes. A current Tiktok trend shows how a vegan chicken can be created from simple ingredients. To prepare the vegan chicken, a dough is made from flour and water, which is washed, flavored and then fried.
Seitan is made from gluten
This is not new or unknown: the social media trend rather shows the preparation of seitan – a centuries-old meat alternative used mainly in Asian cuisine.
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Basically, seitan is almost pure wheat protein – also called gluten. By washing the flour, the starch is removed from the dough, leaving the seitan behind. Seitan dishes have long been found in any well-stocked organic supermarket.
Vegan Seitan Chicken: Ingredients
For about 300 grams of vegan chicken you need:
- 500 grams of wheat flour
- 300 milliliters of water
- 300 milliliters of vegetable juice
- half a teaspoon of sweet paprika powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- half a teaspoon of garlic chili powder
- half a teaspoon of mustard, a bay leaf
- a little salt and pepper
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Vegan seitan chicken: preparation
1. First, flour and water are mixed together in a large bowl. You can do this by hand or with a mixer. Important: the dough must be cooked until it is no longer sticky. The dough is then left to rest covered for about an hour.
The dough must be washed well – until the water is clear.
© Source: Heidi Becker
2. Now it’s time to rinse: the dough is washed with running water until it is almost clean. Just be patient – the process may take a little longer.
3. Next, the vegan chicken is seasoned. Add paprika powder, garlic and chili powder, thyme, salt and pepper and mustard to the washed batter and mix well together. Now the mass is left to rest covered for another 45 minutes.
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When the dough is flavored, it twists around itself.
© Source: Heidi Becker
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4. Now the dough is stretched and twisted (see picture). Now fry the vegan chicken on both sides in a pan (add oil if needed). Then we add the vegetable juice and the bay leaf to the “chicken” and let it simmer with a lid on low heat for about 40 minutes. When the liquid is gone, add the stock.
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First, the “chicken” is baked before being boiled in broth for 40 minutes.
© Source: Heidi Becker
5. Now the vegan chicken is ready. If you want, you can let the juice boil a little and add it to the “meat” as a sauce. Vegan chicken cuts a fine figure both whole and shredded in wraps or salads. Enjoy your meal.