Well-known home cook reveals surprising ingredient for the BEST vegan fried chicken – “I would not have guessed that!”
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Ever heard of crispy fried chicken without the chicken? You heard that right, folks! If you’re a fan of the classic dish but have been making a conscious effort to stay healthy lately, then you’ll be pleased to know that a delicious, vegan alternative exists. We promise you won’t be able to tell the difference!
“Can you believe it isn’t chicken?” Image Credit: @cookingwithayeh
Sydney-based foodie, Ayeh Manfre, also known as Cooking With Ayeh, reveals the secret to vegan fried chicken that tastes just like real chicken! It’s made entirely from oyster mushrooms but it turns out amazingly crispy, golden, and delicious – you’ll think it’s made out of magic!
To make the dish, Ayeh starts by adding plain flour, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder into a large bowl. Then, she takes a third cup of the mixture and places it into a separate bowl containing three-quarter cups of water. She stirs the mixture until a thick batter is formed.
Ayeh then proceeds to dunk clean and washed oyster mushrooms into the batter, then back into the dry flour seasoning.
Ayeh’s tried-and-tested technique to make her vegan fried chicken extra crispy is coating the mushrooms twice in the liquid batter followed by the seasoning mixture before frying.
She then carefully drops the fully coated mushrooms into a pot of blazing hot oil and lets them cook for a couple of minutes or until golden brown.
Once cooked to perfection, Ayeh lifts them out of the pot and lets the mushrooms sit on a cooling rack for the excess oil to drip. She enjoys her mouthwatering creation with her favourite dipping sauce.
According to AICR’s Nutrition Advisor, Karen Collins, mushrooms are great substitutes if you want to achieve a savoury, ‘meaty taste’.
“Mushrooms do have a ‘meaty’ texture and add a flavour known as “umami” that tends to be very satisfying, which makes them ideal to include in pasta sauce, stews, casseroles, chilli and other mixed dishes to maintain a rich flavour and texture while reducing or eliminating the meat they contain.” she explained.
Her appetising, vegan version of fried chicken was well received by thousands of foodies and users who were taken aback by the unusual ingredient she used. Several also showed great enthusiasm for the chance to give the recipe a shot themselves.
“How did u make mushrooms look good?” one user asked.
“I would not have guessed that!! You're amazing hun!” another wrote.
“I am not vegan but really want to try this!” a third excitedly exclaimed.
As of now, Ayeh’s TikTok video sits on over 64k likes and a whopping 631k views! Not that surprising when those ‘chicken’ bites look so scrumptious!
Want to discover more vegan ‘meat’ dishes? Watch the video below!
“Can you believe it isn’t chicken?” Image Credit: @cookingwithayeh
Sydney-based foodie, Ayeh Manfre, also known as Cooking With Ayeh, reveals the secret to vegan fried chicken that tastes just like real chicken! It’s made entirely from oyster mushrooms but it turns out amazingly crispy, golden, and delicious – you’ll think it’s made out of magic!
To make the dish, Ayeh starts by adding plain flour, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder into a large bowl. Then, she takes a third cup of the mixture and places it into a separate bowl containing three-quarter cups of water. She stirs the mixture until a thick batter is formed.
Ayeh then proceeds to dunk clean and washed oyster mushrooms into the batter, then back into the dry flour seasoning.
Video Credit: @cookingwithayeh
Ayeh’s tried-and-tested technique to make her vegan fried chicken extra crispy is coating the mushrooms twice in the liquid batter followed by the seasoning mixture before frying.
She then carefully drops the fully coated mushrooms into a pot of blazing hot oil and lets them cook for a couple of minutes or until golden brown.
Once cooked to perfection, Ayeh lifts them out of the pot and lets the mushrooms sit on a cooling rack for the excess oil to drip. She enjoys her mouthwatering creation with her favourite dipping sauce.
According to AICR’s Nutrition Advisor, Karen Collins, mushrooms are great substitutes if you want to achieve a savoury, ‘meaty taste’.
“Mushrooms do have a ‘meaty’ texture and add a flavour known as “umami” that tends to be very satisfying, which makes them ideal to include in pasta sauce, stews, casseroles, chilli and other mixed dishes to maintain a rich flavour and texture while reducing or eliminating the meat they contain.” she explained.
Her appetising, vegan version of fried chicken was well received by thousands of foodies and users who were taken aback by the unusual ingredient she used. Several also showed great enthusiasm for the chance to give the recipe a shot themselves.
“How did u make mushrooms look good?” one user asked.
“I would not have guessed that!! You're amazing hun!” another wrote.
“I am not vegan but really want to try this!” a third excitedly exclaimed.
As of now, Ayeh’s TikTok video sits on over 64k likes and a whopping 631k views! Not that surprising when those ‘chicken’ bites look so scrumptious!
Want to discover more vegan ‘meat’ dishes? Watch the video below!
Video Credit: BOSH.TV