Image by Sharon Ang from Pixabay
Truly, breading chicken with breadcrumbs is an art in itself that opens up the door to so many more possibilities than one could imagine for diets. It opens the door to veganism, being allergic to eggs, dairy, or just wanting an improved way of breading for health reasons. In this guide, we are going to learn some of the diverse ways and techniques in which one can bread their chicken to be crispy and tasty, all while remaining totally plant-based and allergy-friendly.
Break Down the Ingredients:
Before we go into the recipes, let’s know the ingredients we’ll be using :
● Chicken Alternatives: Choose plant-based chicken alternatives like seitan, tofu, or tempeh for a completely vegan recipe.
● Breadcrumbs: Just check the ingredient list of the store-bought or homemade variety to ensure they are egg and dairy-free.
● Binders: Eggs are substituted with a number of alternatives such as aquafaba (brine from chickpeas), flaxseed meal, or cornstarch mixed with water.
● Spices: Play around with the spices you could add, such as garlic powder, powdered chives, ground bell peppers, dried oregano, nutritional yeast.
● Cooking Oil: Use high heat oil, like canola, vegetable, or peanut, for frying or baking.
Aquafaba Magic
Breading: Canned chickpeas make a great egg replacer and work really well in breading. Here’s how:
● Drain a can of chickpeas and collect the aquafaba in a bowl.
● Soak the meat substitute in aquafaba, ensuring they are well coated.
● Pop the chicken into the bowl with seasoned breadcrumbs and toss.
● Repeat the previous steps to obtain the right thickness of.
● Deep fry or bake the coated chicken until golden brown.
Flax Power
Flaxseeds are very nutritious and serve as a good binder in breading recipes. To use flax as an egg replacer in breading mixtures:
● Mix together ground flaxseed meal and water in the ratio of 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal to 3 tablespoons of water for each egg being replaced.
● Leave for a few minutes until the mixture achieves gel-like consistency.
● Dip the chicken alternative into the flaxseed mix and coat well.
● Bread the chicken in seasoned crumbs.
● Fry, or bake to a delicate brown.
Cornflour Coating:
Cornstarch is another perfect egg substitute in that it adds to the crispy crust. Here is how to use it in your breadingprocedure.
● Mix cornstarch and water to make a slurry.
● Dredge the chicken sub through the cornstarch slurry, dredging it.
● Move the chicken to the bowl with the breadcrumbs and coat thoroughly.
● Cook again if extra crispy is desired.
● Deep fry or oven-bake until the outside breading is golden brown and the chicken substitute is cooked.
Image by b13923790 from Pixabay
Type of Baking
For the healthier alternative to frying, bake your breaded chicken. Here’s how you do it.
● Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
● Bread the chicken substitute with aquafaba, flaxseed, or cornstarch.
● Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet.
● Spritz or paint it with some cooking oil to help get it to brown.
● Bake for 25-30 minutes and turn the pieces halfway through to ensure a uniformly crispy breading and full internal cooking.
