Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sesame UnChicken Fingers with Spicy Mustard Dip

Ingredients:

2 packages chicken style or regular seitan
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil for frying
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon sesame seeds
1/4 cup dry mustard
2 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon arrowroot dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (I use Spectrum)

Directions:

Spicy Mustard dip:

In a saucepan, combine the mustard, vegan sugar, and salt. Add the vinegar and dissolved arrowroot, blending well (its very important that you dissolve the arrowroot in the water *before* adding it. Otherwise, the mixture will get lumpy). Cook 2-3 minutes on low, stirring constantly with a whisk or fork, until the mixture thickens. Remove to a small mixing bowl, and refrigerate 10-15 minutes, then stir in vegan mayonnaise, mixing thoroughly with a whisk or fork. Store in refrigerator. Should keep for several days, if not longer. Note: you can use less mayo or more mustard if you like the sauce spicier.

Sesame Seitan:

Slice the seitan into narrow strips or fingers. The thinner and smaller the pieces, the crispier they will get, but I haven't had a problem burning or undercooking them, so you don't need to worry too much about precision here. Combine the flour and sesame seeds (which you can toast lightly, if you like) in a shallow bowl, and dredge the seitan until coated. I find that packaged seitan holds the coating well without additional liquid, but if its not sticking, you can dredge the seitan in a little plain soymilk first, and then coat it in the flour mixture.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan. Depending on the depth of your pan, you might need more or less oil; the important thing is that the seitan can be submerged so that all sides brown evenly. When the oil is super hot, carefully place a few of the coated strips at a time in the oil and fry until golden brown (about 5-7 minutes). (To test the oil for hotness, I usually just drop in a teeny broken off piece of the coated seitan and see what happens. The oil should bubble up all around it, but it won't splatter if you use pure oil and a clean pan.) Again, fry to your own taste, but I find that the longer you leave the strips in, the crispier they get. Remove the fried strips from the oil with a metal spatula or slotted metal spoon, and place on paper towels to absorb the extra oil. (You can blot gently, as well.) Repeat until all the seitan is fried. Serve with the mustard dip. You can eat the strips hot, or you can let them cool to room temperature.


Serves: 2-4

Preparation time: 30 min.