recipes
Have You Ever Heard of Vegan Chicken? Pay Attention!
Published
8 months agoon
Vegan chicken! Yes, you read that right. As a vegan, I feel obliged to contribute to the ethical treatment of animals by providing more alternative suggestions to healthy eating the vegan way. And in this article, I want to share with you three mouth-watering vegan chicken recipes that have substituted meat products for meat imitations. I will use tofu and seitan for my chicken meat imitations.
Why Meat Imitations?
You may be wondering why we have to use imitations. Well, before I decided to become a vegan, I used to enjoy the great taste of grilled lamb chops and marinated chicken every other week. Sunday roast was my favorite. With time, I came to discover that there are so many products on the market today that can give me that same great taste and appearance of food without subjecting any animal to cruelty. Besides, chicken is the leading among animals that are consumed in large numbers worldwide. Therefore, using a chicken substitute can make a huge difference. Don’t you think so? So let’s get started!
The Vegan Chicken Recipes
Spicy Chicken Tofu Stir-Fry
This easy to make dish is high in protein and low in fat.
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- Firm tofu diced (I have explained how to press tofu in detail below) – 200gm.
- The vegetables; feel free to use your favorite.
- One onion chopped.
- One large broccoli chopped.
- One large cauliflower chopped.
- Snow peas – 1 cup.
- One large carrot cubed.
- Three cloves of garlic – crushed.
- Freshly grated ginger – one teaspoon.
- Olive oil – Four tablespoons.
- Cornflour – Two teaspoons.
- White vinegar – Four tablespoons.
- Soy sauce (low salt).
- A pinch of black pepper.
- Red chili pepper flakes.
- Sesame seeds – two tablespoons.
How to Press Your Tofu
A firm moisture free tofu will maintain its original shape even after cooking. To remove excess moisture, sandwich your tofu between two dry paper towels. Place a large bowl on top of the tofu and put a weight, like a fruit or dry cereals inside the bowl. Leave it for half an hour. If your tofu is too moist, you may have to change the paper towels in between the process. Remove the tofu and cut it into half-inch cubes. Your tofu is now ready to be stir-fried.
Procedure
In a large wok under high heat, add the olive oil and swirl the wok to get an even coating. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, add the tofu, black pepper, and the cornflour and coat the tofu evenly.
When the oil is hot enough, add the tofu and toss the wok. This recipe will test your culinary skills. But if you can’t hack it, just use a wooden spoon and avoid pricking or mushing the tofu excessively. The trick is in the heat.
Fry for three minutes or until the tofu browns on both sides. Remove the tofu and set aside. In the same wok, stir-fry the garlic, ginger, and black pepper until they release their natural oils and aroma. Add the tofu back and mix for another minute. Remove and set aside.
Add a little more olive oil and pop the sesame seeds. It’s now time for the vegetables. Add the onions, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas, and carrots. Stir for a minute. Add the soy sauce and chili flakes for the heat and stir.
When the vegetables are tender, add back the tofu mixture. Cook until heated through.
This dish is best served on a bowl of brown rice.
Homemade Seitan Chicken Curry
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- Precooked seitan diced – 2 cups
- 4 large tomatoes.
- I bulb of red onion.
- Olive oil – 3 teaspoons.
- Freshly squeezed coconut milk – 1 cup.
- Plain soy yogurt (optional) – 1/2 cup.
- The Spices For Marinating:
- Three cloves of garlic – crushed.
- Freshly grated ginger – one teaspoon.
- Turmeric powder – one teaspoon.
- Cumin powder – One teaspoon.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 3 tablespoons.
- Garam masala – one teaspoon.
- Salt to taste.
Procedure
To Marinate: Mix all the marinating spices with lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the seitan pieces and stir. Cover the mixture with a kitchen cloth and leave it for 30 minutes. This step is the most important in this recipe, and it will determine the final flavor of the dish.
To prepare the curry: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Stir fry the garam masala, onions, garlic, and ginger for three minutes or until they become fragrant.
Add the diced tomatoes. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the marinated seitan pieces to the simmering curry.
Pour in the soy yogurt and coconut milk and a pinch of salt to taste. You may add more spices at this point if you prefer spicy curries. Leave it to simmer under low heat for ten more minutes. Serve hot with rice or flatbreads.
Deep Fried Vegan Chicken Nuggets
In these chicken nuggets, I use seitan. They have the same great taste and appearance as the real chicken nuggets.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- Seitan – 500 gms cubed.
- Mustard – 1/2 cup.
- One onion diced.
- Three cloves of garlic – crushed.
- Two cups of self-raising gluten-free flour.
- Black pepper – 1 teaspoon.
- 3/4 cup of water.
- Salt to taste.
Procedure
Mix the black pepper, salt, and flour in a large bowl. Add the onions, and garlic, and set aside.
In another bowl, mix the mustard with water. Add a scoop of the flour mixture to this bowl. Mix to form a thin paste.
Now coat the seitan pieces with this batter. And then dust with flour and do a second coating.
Deep fry the seitan chunks in hot oil until they turn golden brown on both sides.
Alternatively, you can bake them. However, to be honest, the deep fried version tastes way better.
Drain the nuggets using kitchen paper towels and serve.
These nuggets go well with French fries and onion rings.
In Conclusion
Being a vegan doesn’t mean we suddenly forget all the earthly pleasures. As much as we strive to eat healthily, indulge in a few vegan cheats here and there. You never know what you bump into. And these vegan chicken recipes will be a great start for you. The recipes are so tasty that even your non-vegan friends will enjoy. And most importantly, they are an ideal solution to chicken cravings. Feel free to alter the ingredients and vegan chicken substitutes to your liking.
Rachel is a mom of two boys, a wife, and a part-time chef. By trying and testing new parenting trends she takes her motherhood to the next level! She finds that she processes things better when she writes about them, which has unleashed her passion for sharing her thoughts on life and parenting through her articles for SOLANCHA Magazine.
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recipes
A Four Ingredients Vegan Lasagna Recipe with Homemade Vegan Ricotta
Published
2 days agoon
February 21, 2019Vegan lasagna with homemade ricotta cheese tastes heavenly. And we don’t need a list of ingredients in this recipe. With just 4 ingredients, you have a delicious main course. The beauty of lasagna is that you can also use your leftover sauces and cooked leftover vegetables. In this recipe, I will keep it simple. However, feel free to experiment with whichever leftovers and vegan cheese you have.
The Ingredients
- Pre-cooked pasta sheets
- 2 cups Vegan Ricotta
- A bunch of baby spinach leaves
- 1-cup white Sauce (recipe below)
The Procedure
Sauté the baby spinach or you can steam them until tender. Season them with salt and red chili flakes and set them aside.
In a large casserole dish, start by spreading a generous layer of the white sauce. Now layer the lasagna. Spread more white sauce and add your spinach and ricotta filling. Add a layer of lasagna and repeat the process until you achieve 3 layers.
Bake your vegan lasagna for 30 minutes at 375F.
Let it sit for 5 minutes before you cut and serve.
Homemade Vegan White Sauce
To make the white sauce, you need:
- 2 cups cashew nuts – presoaked
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
- ½ tbsp. lemon juice
- A pinch of sea salt to taste
- 2 cloves of garlic – minced
Blend the cashew nuts in a blender until smooth and creamy.
Sauté the garlic in a small sauce pot. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice. Bring them to boil whisking constantly. Once the sauce thickens, add lemon juice, stir, and remove the pot from the heat.
When the sauce cools, you can use it in any recipe that calls for white sauce.
Homemade Vegan Ricotta Cheese
To make vegan Ricotta cheese at home, you need the following:
- 2 cups of almonds – presoaked
- 2 cups of soy milk
- 3 cups of water
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- The juice of 1 lemon (4 tablespoons)
Blend all the ingredients except the salt and lemon juice and squeeze out the liquid using a muslin cloth.
Now put the milk you squeeze out in a pan and add the salt. Under high heat, bring the milk to boil as you stir occasionally. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until it thickens slightly. Now switch off the heat and add the lemon juice. Stir briefly, and let it sit until it cools off (for about 3 hours).
As the liquid cools, you will notice the curds forming. Filter the liquid from the curd using a muslin cloth. Once all the liquid has drained, transfer this ricotta cheese to a cheese basket and wrap it in the paper. Refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, all the remaining liquid will have filtered out and what remains is a firm block of vegan ricotta cheese.
In Conclusion
Most people complicate their vegan lasagna with multiple sauces and ingredients. As a result, your dish loses clarity. Vegan delicacies are equally enjoyable, and they don’t need a load of ingredients to make them stand out. Try this vegan lasagna recipe today and keep it simple.
The secret to the best vegan gluten-free brownies is in the quality of chocolate used. For this recipe, I use 80% dark chocolate and additional cocoa powder. You also need to grease your baking tin with coconut oil. Or use a parchment paper for easier slicing and handling once the brownies are cooked through.
In addition, non-vegan brownies use eggs to incorporate air, which makes them light and fluffy. In our recipe, we will use an egg substitute. However, this is entirely up to you. You can also use light flour like coconut flour without the vegan egg for similar results. Let’s get started.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces vegan dark chocolate – chopped into smaller chunks
- ¼ cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 cup melted coconut cream (or use vegan butter)
- 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or any sweetener you prefer)
- A dash of vanilla extract
- A pinch of sea salt
- 1-cup gluten-free flour
- Egg substitute
Procedure
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare your baking tin by either greasing with coconut oil or line it with a parchment paper.
The Egg Substitute
To make the vegan egg, mix 2 tablespoons of chia seeds with 6 tablespoons water. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes to thicken. You can also use a flax egg, but I find chia seeds healthier.
The Chocolate Ganache
Mix the dark chocolate chunks with cocoa powder and pour in the hot coconut cream. Mix gently. The heat from the coconut cream should melt the dark chocolate effortlessly.
However, if you are using vegan butter, you have to pre-melt the dark chocolate first.
The Vegan Gluten Free Brownies Batter
In a large bowl, mix in the sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg substitute. Add the chocolate ganache and mix thoroughly. Now sift in the flour and fold gently.
Pour this batter in the baking tin, and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and bang the baking tin on a hard surface. This takes care of any uneven baking and gently breaks the top surface.
Return them to the oven to continue baking for another 20 minutes. A well-done brownie should be crunchy on the surface and gooey in the center.
While slicing, keep wiping the knife after each cut to maintain neatly shaped brownie slices.
To serve the vegan gluten-free brownies, drizzle some melted dark chocolate and garnish with chopped nuts and herbs.
Enjoy!
Recipe Variation
The above recipe is simple and healthy, but you can make it even better and more flexible for your kitchen.
Generally, store-bought gluten-free flour might contain tapioca flour, rice flour, potato starch, teff flour, buckwheat flour, sorghum flour, or garbanzo flour among others. Some also contain nut flours. You can easily make yours at home.
For example, you can make almond flour by simply grinding raw almonds in a powerful blender or grinder. But, since almond flour is quite fine and dense, it barely holds shape. Because of this, make sure you mix it with a different type of flour like brown rice flour for fluffy brownies.
You can also add healthy spices and herbs in your brownies. Freshly ground ginger and mint leaves go well with brownies.
And the list is endless. Customize your vegan gluten-free brownies just how you like them.
recipes
Healthy and Nutritious Packed Vegan Omelette Recipes
Published
4 weeks agoon
January 24, 2019A vegan omelette is a quick breakfast fix. The key ingredient is Chickpea flour and if you prefer the “eggy” smell, add a little black salt (Kala Namak). In this article, I will share with you the various ways you can enrich your vegan omelette to make it more nutritious and unique every day.
The Basic Vegan Omelette Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups wholemeal (or use gluten-free or plain flour)
- 2 cups Gram flour (Chickpea, Besan, or Garbanzo flour)
- 1 tablespoon Baking powder
- A pinch of Salt
- A pinch of Black salt (Kala Namak) – optional
- 800 ml Non-dairy milk (any will do, but soy milk is the best)
Procedure
Mix all the ingredients until well combined. You can use a blender, a cocktail shaker, a whisk, or whichever gadget you prefer.
Let it sit for 20 minutes for best results. However, you can prepare the vegan omelette immediately if you are in a hurry.
Meanwhile, preheat a non-stick skillet.
For the first piece, oil the skillet. These omelettes are a bit sensitive, and they can stick or break if you are not careful. However, you don’t need to keep oiling the skillet for the other omelettes.
These vegan omelettes also cook fast. 2 minutes on each side is enough as long as your batter is thin.
Vegetable Omelette Recipe
To the above ingredients add; some finely diced veggies to the batter (e.g., onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc.)
With the vegetables in the batter, cook your vegan omelette slightly longer. Alternatively, you can blanch or sauté these veggies individually. And then prepare the basic omelette. And finally, make a lovely sandwich.
Herbed Vegetable Omelette Recipe
Vegan omelettes are delicious with herbs and spices. Ginger-garlic powder, cumin, turmeric, chili, and nutmeg go particularly well with these omelettes. Add the spices of your choice in the batter. But, not more than 3 spices.
For a Quick Fix
You can prepare the omelette batter in advance. I usually mix all the dry ingredients and keep them refrigerated. In the morning I scope some of it, mix with soy milk, and I am good to go. However, this mixture keeps for a week at most because the flour and baking soda absorb moisture as you open and close the jar.
The Do’s and Don’ts
Do use spices and healthy herbs. They elevate your omelette to another level. In fact, once you master the art of mixing vegetables in the batter, you will never go back to the plain ones.
Do use a non-stick pan. The other options (Aluminum, copper, cast iron, and the likes) stick, and they require a generous amount of oil with each omelette.
Don’t flip the omelette before the bottom side is fully dried and has started pulling away from the pan on the edges. If you try flipping over, the omelette will break.
Don’t use plain chickpea flour. The density and texture of this flour cannot hold shape on its own, which is why we add plain flour or any healthier options available.
In Conclusion
Vegan omelette is best served hot with a beverage of your choice. You can also serve it warm with a cold fruit salad. How do you serve your vegan omelettes?
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