My roommate went to Trader Joe's and brought me back some vegan chicken-less strips. They sat in the fridge for a few days because I couldn't think of anything cool to do with them. Then, like I do, I was laying in bed thinking about the vast expanse of the universe or something and it came to me: I need to make lemon chicken.
You know the Asian lemon or orange chicken you can buy in any food court and in a lot of freestanding places? I could make a vegan version of that.
One slight bummer, I was out of ginger. Next time I will absolutely use that. And next time I think I would add the chickenless strips absolutely last (because they were sooo crispy and yummy when I got them out of the oil but softened a tad once I put them in the sauce). But overall it was amazing. If you don't like the taste or texture if fake meats, frying the crap out of them and then slathering them in a delicious sauce will change your tune. Everyone loves fried things. And sauce.
I adapted a recipe from Yummily Yours which was for asian orange cauliflower. I used fresh lemon juice instead of orange, added fresh pineapple, and used a vegan-friendly brown sugar instead of white sugar. Also, instead of sriracha I used a traditional chili sauce that is found at most Asian markets. And finally -obviously- I used chickenless strips instead of cauliflower. You can view that original recipe here, and I plan to try it myself sometime soon:
http://yummilyyours.com/orange-cauliflower/
Here is my version:
Asian Lemon "Chicken" with Peppers and Pineapple
- 1 package of Trader Joe's Chicken-less Strips (or about a cup and a half of your favorite meat substitute)
- 1/2 cup diced bell peppers (I used red and green)
- 1/2 cup fresh cut pineapple
- 2 tsp diced white onion
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup water (to make a batter)
- Oil for frying + 1 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth (or you can just use water)
- 1 lemon's worth of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp Sriracha (or another kind of red chili paste/sauce)
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed black pepper
- Salt to taste
- (You can garnish with sesame seeds and green onions as well, if you like)
- Heat oil for frying
- In another pan, heat half tbsp. oil and add the diced peppers. Sauté them for a min or 2 until they turn golden. Make sure that you are not overcooking the peppers. Set aside once they are done.
- Mix the corn starch and all-purpose flour with a pinch of salt and water to make a thick batter. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chickenless strips evenly.
- Dip each strip into the batter and add them into hot oil for frying.
- Fry them in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan.
- Once the batter covering the strips turns crisp, drain them out of the oil and place them on paper towels.
Once you are done frying all the strips, you have to keep them crisp until you are ready to toss them in the sauce. You can do this either by keeping them warm in a pre-heated oven or re-frying them in hot oil for just a min before adding them into the sauce.
For the sauce, heat 1/2 tbsp oil in the pan you roasted the peppers in. Add minced ginger and garlic.
Sauté them for a min until they turn golden. Add the lemon zest in
Add the broth, lemon juice, sriracha, soy sauce, brown sugar and mix well.
Meanwhile, measure out 2 tbsp of corn starch batter than you used for the frying
Once the broth-lemon mixture begins to boil, lower the heat. Add the crushed black pepper and salt
Add the corn starch paste into the boiling mixture in a slow steady stream. Make sure you are constantly stirring the simmering mixture with your other hand while adding the corn flour paste.
Once the mixture thickens, toss in the fried strips, the sautéed bell peppers and the fresh pineapple pieces
Mix well and increase the heat up a notch. Heat for a min or
Transfer it to a serving dish (and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions if you want to
