Vegan comfort food week of unResolution month marches onward.  Why vegan food?  Well, I figure I’m corrupting the omnivore’s and the vegetarian’s diet, I might as well make it equal opportunity (raw foodists, I’m thinking real hard…)  I mean, after all, UnResolution month only works if everyone gets a chance to eat really bad-for-you-food that tastes pretty darned good. Right?

So today, we are going with something quick and easy and familiar to meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike:

Fried Vegan “Chicken Strips”

If you have been following this blog much lately, I have been doing a lot of cooking with Match Foods products.  I’ve done gravy burgers and crab rangoon both made from Match’s meat replacers.  Today, I decided to bring things back a little bit and do something everyone loves: chicken strips, but vegan chicken strips made from Match meat.

This recipe is simple and easy and uses the same tempura skillz I learned from Julia Usher at Sauce Magazine.  However, unlike yesterday’s deep fried sushi recipe, the tempura batter used in this recipe is a lot more open to interpretation.  Normal tempura batter uses plain soda water and minimal spices.  With this recipe, you can use beer if you like or Coca-Cola or whatever.  You can also add more or different spices than those I list.

Feel free to have fun with this one.

Vegan Chicken Strips

You will need:

• 1 package Match Foods chicken
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 cup dark beer (drink the rest)
• 1 egg’s worth of egg replacer
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
• Oil for frying

Defreeze (yes the term is thaw, but I am bound and determined to make defreeze a word) the Match meat.  Cut into 16 strips.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and thyme.  You may need a little more than a teaspoon of thyme, but do not over do it.  Thyme is strong.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly to make the tempura batter.  The batter should be about like pancake batter.  Add more rice flour or beer to thicken or thin the batter as needed.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees or high on the stove.  Then dip each piece of mock chicken in the batter and then let it set for about five minutes.

Fry in batches of 4-6 chicken strips for 5 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove and salt immediately.  Let them cool on a cooling rack or on paper towels.

You know what to do now…Enjoy!