Southern Fried 'Chicken'
 
 
Raw Vegan Culinary Course
Author:
Ingredients
Southern Fried Chicken
  • 900 g Firm Tofu, block
  • 1 ⅓ cup Double Strength Chicken Style Broth
  • Neutral oil for frying (I used rice bran)
Seasoned Flour
  • 1 ⅓ cup Gluten Free Rice Bubbles
  • 1 ⅓ cup Gluten Free Plain Flour
  • ¾ tsp White Pepper
  • ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper, for hot and spicy (optional)
  • 1 ⅓ tsp Salt
  • 1 ⅓ tsp Onion Powder
  • 1 ⅓ tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 ½ tsp Nutritional Yeast
Vegan Egg For Coating
  • 3 TBSP Vegan Egg Mixture (not to be confused with egg replacer - I used ORGRAN)
  • 1 ⅓ cup Cold Water, more if needed
Avocado Whip
  • 1 Avocado, large
  • 1 ½ TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
Chargrilled Corn on the Cob
  • 1 Whole Corn on the Cob
Cabbage & Apple Slaw
  • 1 Green Cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 3 Red Apples, sliced into thin matchsticks (seeds removed)
  • ½ Red Onion, cut into thin half moons and then cut in half again
  • 4 TBSP Mint, roughly chopped
  • 4 TBSP Vegan Mayonnaise
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
Southern Fried Chicken
  1. Place the unopened package(s) of tofu into the freezer and freeze until solid. Remove from freezer and allow tofu to thaw completely. Once thawed, place tofu back into the freezer and freeze solid again. When you are ready to make the Vegan Fried Chicken, pull out the tofu and thaw completely again. I find it takes about 6-8 hours to defrost thoroughly. The whole process of freezing and defrosting can take a couple of days, but it is what makes the texture of the chicken work.
  2. Using a tofu press, or a couple of plates, squeeze all the excess water from the defrosted tofu. Be gentle as the tofu will have softened a bit and can fall apart easily.
  3. Once you have removed all the excess water, gently pull apart the tofu into the desired size pieces you want, and place the tofu pieces on a clean tea towel whilst you prepare the Vegan Egg & Seasoned Flour mixtures.
  4. Mix all the seasoned flour ingredients together leaving out the rice bubbles, they go in later.
  5. Whisk the Vegan Egg mixture with 1 cup of water until you have a smooth batter consistency. Then, continue adding water gradually until you have a mixture that resembles a thin crepe style batter. You will be coating your tofu pieces in this, so it shouldn’t be overly thick.
  6. Prepare your double strength stock in a large wide bowl.
  7. Add all the tofu pieces carefully around the side and in the middle of the bowl.
  8. Gently press down on all the tofu with you hands until it is completely submersed in the stock and absorbs it.
  9. Push down a few times to make sure the tofu absorbs as much of the flavouring as possible.
  10. Once this is done, drain away any remaining stock that has not been absorbed.
  11. Transfer the tofu pieces a few at a time into the seasoned flour mix and lightly coat them, shaking off any excess flour, and place on a board. Do this until you have coated all the tofu pieces.
  12. Add the rice bubbles to the remaining seasoned flour (you should have quiet a bit of flour remaining).
  13. With your hands, grab a handful of the rice bubble and flour mixture and crush it together, and do this until you have crushed about ½ of the rice bubbles.
  14. Leave some larger pieces as this will make the coating crunchy.
  15. Make sure your egg mixture is thin and ready to coat (add more water if needed).
  16. Taking one piece of tofu at a time, dip it in the vegan egg allowing any excess to drip off before placing in the seasoned flour/rice bubble mixture.
  17. Gently roll the tofu until it is completely coated in the flour mixture, and place on a tray ready for baking or frying (whichever method you choose).
  18. Repeat until all the tofu pieces are coated.
  19. If you choose to bake the chicken, heat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
  20. Spray or drizzle olive oil generously over the chicken and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until nice and golden brown. Turn over half way through cooking.
  21. If frying, heat your oil to frying temperature in a wok or deep saucepan, and place the chicken pieces in the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the wok or pan as this will lower the temp of the oil.
  22. Cook until golden brown for about 8-10 minutes.
  23. Once cooked, allow the chicken to cool slightly as it will be very hot in the centre.
Avocado Whip
  1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and using a hand blender, whip ingredients until combined and smooth.
  2. Taste and add more seasoning if needed.
Chargrilled Corn on the Cob
  1. Spray oil on a ribbed griddle pan or bbq depending on what you choose to cook on.
  2. Heat on high until pan/bbq is very hot.
  3. Place the whole corn on the cob directly in the pan and allow it to char to your liking.
  4. Turn the cob regularly so that it does burn but achieves a nice caramel char.
  5. Once the corn is cooked to your liking, remove the kernels so that they are ready for serving.
Cabbage & Apple Slaw
  1. Place all ingredients except mayonnaise, salt & pepper, into a large mixing bowl and gently toss until combined.
  2. Add the mayonnaise, salt & pepper and gently mix until coated completely in dressing.
Notes
Serves 6

The one classic dish that I missed when I became Vegan was Southern Fried Chicken (Yes! KFC was my favourite takeaway, disgusting I know!) I loved the crunchy coating that surrounded the chicken, the juicy texture and, also the sides that went with it. Creamy coleslaw and hot buttered corn on the cob. Southern Fried Chicken hit all the spots for me. Early on I began my journey to find the best vegan alternative for this recipe. If I could somehow replicate this dish making it Vegan and healthier as well, it was a winning combination!

It needed to be tender, moist and most of all have a flavourful, crispy and crunchy coating. I wanted to be able to serve the dish up to family members and friends and have them thoroughly enjoy it and be surprised at how good Vegan cooking can be when recreating traditional, classic recipes. My son was so excited when I made it and our entire family were blown away by the taste, texture and flavour. My son-in-law who is not Vegan absolutely devoured it, I will take that as a success!

The main ingredient in this recipe is tofu, which is frozen solid, then completely defrosted before being frozen for a second time and then defrosted again. The process of freezing and defrosting the tofu twice changes the texture and the structure of it. It becomes very tender and easily pulls apart or shreds into large pieces of chicken. This process is what really makes the difference with replicating tender pieces of chicken.

I found that the dish hit all the spots for me, crispy, crunchy chicken that was moist and tender on the inside. Sweet chargrilled corn kernels & a light fresh slaw with apple & mint. The creamy, lemon avocado added a beautiful flavour and was a much healthier fat alternative than butter and all the traditional mayonnaise that is generally used.
Recipe by The Raw Food Institute of Australia at https://therawfoodinstituteofaustralia.com/southern-fried-chicken/