CwU #33 Theme - Homemade Ⓥ EGAN FRIED CHICKEN 🌱

in #cookwithus5 years ago (edited)

chick1.jpg

This weeks @cookwithus challenge is homemade takeaway food, so I thought i'd share with you my veganized version of what used to be one of my favorite fast food treats

I've been following a pretty strict diet for a few years now and to be honest I don't eat out... I know that vegan takeout food is on the rise but I still don't know what other ingredients they use, i'm very picky that I don't want regular table salt in my food, I also no longer eat fiery foods because i'm a pitta dosha in Auyvedic philosophy, hot foods can cause irritability, uncomfortability and shortness of temper even though I used to love spice alot, I also include black pepper and garlic as hot foods. After working in a restaurant for a few years I know that food is always prepared in advance, I also know that sugars are often used to sweeten the food, even if it's savory because it makes it more delicious! I'm not a fan of the price tag that goes with eating out or takeaways these days. Don't get me wrong I used to eat out alot when I was a student, my loan and 2 part time jobs gave me extra income to indulge myself, also back then I wasn't strict with my eating at all but my mind and my body were both not in the best place either.

When I would go out drinking I would have an intense craving for fried chicken, there was a time I never thought I could be a vegetarian let alone vegan because of my love for chicken. I didn't think I would become t-total either but here I am and it certainly stops you craving high fat & convenience foods!

I did slip up once, after about 6 months into my vegetarian journey, I was traveling and stayed on a work away placement in Panama. They all wanted to go to this fried chicken joint that they were all raving about, they said the guy running it was Jamaican and it was the best fried chicken they had, as the chicken was free range and local.
I've tried a whole spectrum of fried chicken from that really grimy take away stuff where there are rhumours that they are frying rats not chickens and I have that home made stuff from your friends mama, and i've had the posher restaurant style fried chicken (actually wings or little drum sticks used to be my favorite)
So lets say I had a high bar of expectation for this fried chicken joint in panama, I was willing to be flexitarian for the night so not to miss the opportunity and honestly it was not worth it at all! It was greasy and average, the batter was just not up to scratch and just ruined what was supposedly a really fresh chicken. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it however, which is interesting how your perspective can really change after short period going veggie. I knew then that I didn't really want to eat meat again whatsoever. The next day I felt really bad, like I'd poisoned my system and I didn't like the feeling of knowing I ate a dead animal, it brought me to tears.

Even though I'm on a strict diet, I do not feel restricted whatsoever, pretty much any dish out there can be veganized and I can tailor make it to my taste. Cooking all the time did get a bit tiresome at one point but if you can food prep in advance and make batches, all you have to do is grab the food from the fridge or freezer with minimal effort. That's what I did with this vegan fried chicken, I prepared a whole load and then ate some fresh and saved some for later.

mushroom1.jpg

Fried Vegan Recipe

A selection of mushrooms (wash and dry)

Batter mix

  • 1/2 cup plant based milk ( I made a homemade oat milk)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup oat flour (grind oats into fine powder)
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seed flour (grind sunflower seeds into fine powder)
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • Seasoning of choice ( I used an organic tandoori spice mix)

Breading mix

  • 1 cup sunflower seed flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • Seasoning of choice

fry6.jpg

Once you have made our batter mix add all the mushrooms so they are completely covered and leave in the fridge for half an hour for the batter to harden.

Then heat oil in a pan. Whilst the pan is warming up, removed the battered mushrooms and toss them into the breading mixture and into the pan. Turn the pieces occasionally so they are golden brown on each side.

fry5.jpg

Once the battered mushrooms are cooked, remove from pan and put on a cooling rack with a plate underneath to collect any excess oil, then serve.

chick7.jpg

Fried chicken is great on it's own but I really want to eat it in a wrap as well because I was having memories of another favorite take away I used to enjoy after partying all night long was chicken kebab wraps. So I decided to make my own sweet potato & platano wraps.

Recipe for sweet potato wraps:

  • 1 cup sweet potato puree (make your self by using one medium sweet potato & 1/2 cup water and boil)
  • 1 1/2 cup platano flour (or other gluten free flour of choice)
  • 1/2 cup arrow root flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

dough.jpg

Combine all the ingredients and kneed the dough, then grap hand size chunks and round into a disk shape. Dust a piece of greese proof paper with flour and place the dough disk on the paper, dust some flour on top and add another piece of greeseproof papaer on top and roll with a rolling pin into wraps.

wraps.jpg

Removed each wrap from the paper gently and heat a pan, warm each wrap on the panm turning on to each side until golden brown.

chick8.jpg

Now you can create a delicious wrap with any fillings you like and most importantly the 'fried chicken' I also made a creamy homemade mayo with left over potatoes, some chickpeas, nutrional yeast, kosher salt, a splash of oil and water all blitz together in a puree maker attachment for the food processor.

chick3.jpg

Honestly this was too good!!!! The mushrooms really have a fantastic fleshy texture, the batter was a lot better than your regular fried foods and the sunflower seeds have a surprisingly 'chicken' flavor once fried. The sweet potato wraps were nice & soft, really holding together the whole meal.

Thanks to @curie and @sneaky-ninja for supporting the contest! Thank you to the Cook with Us team - @chefsteve, @pandamama and @offoodandart for running the comp!

I hope you give it a try... let me know what you think in the comments below.....

celestialcowgifsml.gif

@celestialcow

Sort:  

Wow. Just wow. Now I feel like not chicken fried chicken! These look incredible and I want some NOW.

Brilliant veganised fried chicken recipe @celestialcow! Very inventive, looks like the real deal. You show that anything can be made vegan if you try!

Good luck this week :)

Thank you... Being vegan really is a fascinating journey, its so nice to make the thing we have programmed to love and without having to hurt any animals

Wow this looks absolutely delicious @celestialcow and no meat at that, just wow, you'll convert me still!

Hehe thank you! :) Its not too difficult to keep enjoying those much loved foods and keep it vegan :)

Love these fried mushrooms, sounds and looks so delicious. Well done @celestialcow. I would certainly prefer this over the "takeout" food. Those wraps will be something I will try as well, I am always looking for new wrap recipes! Thanks so much!

I know! Tale out food is quite over rated. Let me know how u get on with the wraps :)

Congratulations! Your post has been selected as a daily Steemit truffle! It is listed on rank 6 of all contributions awarded today. You can find the TOP DAILY TRUFFLE PICKS HERE.

I upvoted your contribution because to my mind your post is at least 6 SBD worth and should receive 271 votes. It's now up to the lovely Steemit community to make this come true.

I am TrufflePig, an Artificial Intelligence Bot that helps minnows and content curators using Machine Learning. If you are curious how I select content, you can find an explanation here!

Have a nice day and sincerely yours,
trufflepig
TrufflePig

These look fantastic! Especially in a wrap. I totally agree with you on the changed expectations. I've had that a few times where I thought I would enjoy a "cheat" and it turns out it is just not worth it. I can't handle the salt, oil and who knows what else. I still eat out on rare occasions, but even the better options still tend to make me bloat with the sodium. Like you said, good thing we can make pretty much anything we want even better at home!

It's funny when we realize how sensitive our bodies become and we just have to respect that and keep serving our bodies. It then becomes so easy to avoid all that stuff ppl are so addicted to and can't give up!

Awesome dish! I love mushrooms and I can totally get behind your vegan version of fried chicken! Your batter and breading would make such a delicious bite! I love how you took it a step further with the sweet potato wrap. Great idea and a delicious dish. Thank you for sharing it with us!

It was a pleasure to make this and tasted great too!

I honestly feel your vegan version is something I would enjoy and not even miss the chicken because to me, mushrooms are like meat. That nice batter made them look so crispy and a delight to eat. Adding the wrap with the homemade mayo is a welcome bonus!

Love your tip about the fried sunflower seeds, thank you. Gotta give that a try sometime soon.

I feel the same mushrooms really fill the gap of meat and I can tell you my boyfriend said it was way better than any chicken takeaway. Let me know what you think about the sunflower seeds if you get the same taste sensation to fried chicken

Thanks for a great vegan recipe - would like to try this sometime

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.36
TRX 0.12
JST 0.039
BTC 70223.87
ETH 3561.28
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.73