Ever since I started regularly washing flour to make seitan, I’ve been exploring more ‘meaty’ recipes that never really appealed previously. One of these is vegan cola chicken! So, I’m not entirely sure whether this dish was invented in the West or the East, as both lay claim to it. What do you reckon?
Anyway, cola chicken was a super popular dish when I was a sad university student. You basically throw some meat and cola in a rice cooker and it would come out tasting fab. However, this recipe is the responsible Asian grown-up version, with spices and sauteeing and stuff. You know, cos I’m the embodiment of functional adulthood lol.
I use the WTF or Wash The Flour method of making seitan with flour. Find out more at the Seitan Society website. If this is your first time doing WTF, watch this video by Greg Cook first. You will need a good vegan chick’un stock powder to make this. My recommendations are Vigor & Health Vegetarian G Seasoning (sadly not as kinky as it sounds but extremely tasty) and Massel Premium Stock Powder Chicken Style. You can also use mushroom stock powder.
Tips
- If you can’t be bothered with making seitan, you can totally use tofu for this vegan cola chicken recipe.
- For larger serving sizes, you may still find it easier to work in batches of 500g.
- Chick’un powders are all different, so if you find your seitan bland add more seasoning next time (sorry).
- If you are the organized sort, you should marinate the seitan chunks after simmering and before resting.
- Add bird’s eye chillies for spice.
- Add a couple of slices of lemon for extra tang!
This dish is slightly complicated so head to the instructions for more details.
What to do with all your excess starch water? Make Starch Water Spam Luncheon Meat or Vegan Bacon Fried Cabbage!
Ingredients
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Seitan
- Seitan Seasoning
- For Simmering
- Marinade
- For Sautee
Instructions
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Make the seitan
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Combine the flour and water and knead into a sexy round dough. The dough should not be sticky to your hands or the table/bowl and should bounce back slightly when pressed.
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Immerse the dough ball in a bowl of water and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours. (I normally do 6 hours or overnight.)
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Wash the dough until the water is only slightly cloudy. You will be tempted to stop here. This is the stage called "brains". Do not stop here, keep washing. The dough mass will fall apart and then come together again.
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In the end, the ball of gluten should be stretchy and holding together. The gluten strands should be well defined with no large white blobs. (Optional: Save the starchy water for making other stuff!)
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Incorporate the seitan seasoning into your gluten mass. You may need to cut the mass up with scissors and massage violently. It's all good, the gluten loves a good rub. After seasoning, rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours. (I normally do 6 hours or overnight.)
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After a good relaxing time in the fridge, break the seitan mass into smaller chunks. Braid and knot them, stretching the ends over the entire chunks.
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Fry the seitan chunks with some oil over medium-low heat, pressing down with a flat spatula to get a nice sear on both sides.
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Add water enough to cover 3/4 of the chunks. Include the extra seasoning juice from above and more chick'un powder. Make sure you simmer on low heat, so no crazy bubbles. If your stove is too hot, chuck a ceramic saucer over the flame to dissipate the heat more evenly. Do this for 45 minutes, turning midway.
- After simmering, leave your seitan to rest. The longer you rest it, the firmer it will be. Resting time can range from 30 minutes to overnight. On serving day
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Marinate your seitan. If you are super organized, you can do this before the previous step (so after simmer and before resting).
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Prepare all the other ingredients.
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Fry the seitan chunks with some oil over medium-low heat until they go golden.
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Make a hole in the centre and put in the ginger, garlic, spring onion, Sichuan pepper, and star anise. Fry until fragrant about 2 minutes.
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Mix everything together for another 2 minutes.
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Add 1 cup of cola and bring to a boil.
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Turn the heat down to low and let it simmer, turning the seitan pieces regularly until the sauce has reduced. Add salt to taste.
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Add some spring onion greens on top and toss.
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Serve hot with rice.
