Any good vegan chicken substitutes?

Question

I'd like to make cashew chicken, or general tso's chicken, or maybe sesame chicken (like from the chinese restaurants--with a sweet kind of sauce) but I was wondering what would be the best vegan meat replacement? tofu, tempeh, seitan? i really haven't found much, so any recipes or suggestions would be good!

Answer 1

boca chik'n patties

they're my favorite

Answer 2

There are a lot!

To make vegan cashew 'chicken':

2 c. cut-up cooked seitan or tofu

3 med. stalks celery, cut up

8 oz. mushrooms, cut up

1 (8 oz.) can thinly sliced water chestnuts

1 med. onion, chopped

1 c. mix green vegetables (broccoli, pea pods, red bell pepper,

1/4 c. teriyaki sauce or soy sauce or braggs liquids aminos

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

3/4 c. vegetable or vegan chicken-style broth

2 tbsp. cornstarch

3 tbsp. cold water

4 c. hot cooked rice

2 tbsp. oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. cashews

Heat oil and salt in large skillet. Add seitan/tofu. Cook and stir over

medium high until almost done. Stir in vegetables and ginger, cook and

stir for 1 minute. Stir in broth and cashews and teriyaki sauce. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender and

seitan/tofu is done, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix cold water and cornstarch, stir gradually into chicken mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring

constantly. Serve over hot rice. 5 servings.

General Tso's Tofu 'chicken':

1 box of firm tofu

egg substitute for 1 egg

3/4 cup cornstarch

vegetable oil for frying

3 chopped green onions

1 Tablespoon minced ginger

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2/3 cup vegetable stock

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

4 Tablespoons sugar

red pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon sherry (optional)

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

steamed broccoli

For Tofu:

Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the

night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn't

necessary. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an

additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer/water mixture

and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat

completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the

bottom of the bowl.Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden.

Drain oil.

For Sauce:

Let me just repeat, I strongly recommend doubling this sauce.

Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green

onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to

burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and

vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour

into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.Serve

immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.

Vegan sesame 'chicken':

3 whole seitan

Marinade

2 tablespoons light soy sauce or braggs

1 tablespoon cooking wine or dry sherry

3 drops sesame oil

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce

1/2 cup water

1 cup vegetable chicken-style broth

1/8-1/4 cup white vinegar or rice wine vinegar (depending on how sweet

you want the sauce)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce or braggs

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon chili paste (or more)

1 garlic clove (minced)

peanut oil (3 1/2-4 cups)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Cut the seiten into 1-inch cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients (the

first 9 ingredients listed) and marinate the seitan for 20 minutes.

To prepare the sauce:

Mix together all of the sauce ingredients (the LAST 9 ingredients

beginning with water). Pour them into a small pot and bring to a boil,

stirring continuously. Turn the heat down to low and keep warm while

you are deep-frying the seitan.

To deep-fry the seitan:

Add the marinated seitan pieces a few at a time, and deep-fry until

golden brown. Drain on paper towels and then place seitan in warm

oven (130 degrees) while you continue frying. Repeat with the

remainder of the seitan. Just before you are finished deep-frying,

bring the sauce back up to a boil.

Place the seitan on a large platter and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle

with sesame seeds. Serve the Sesame Seitan with rice.

Tofu, tempeh, and seitan are all good as chicken substitute. As well Morningstar makes great vegan chicken, in the recipes aboove you can use tofu in pace of seiten or in place of tempeh and  vice veras.

Answer 3

i like this 'chicken' seitan by white wave : http://www.tofutown.net/index.php?id=93

or the morningstar chikn strips, but they do come lightly seasoned, i find they're great in italian type dishes, not sure about chinese : http://www.seeveggiesdifferently.com/pro...

this one looks more asian style, but i think its seasoned too : http://www.seeveggiesdifferently.com/pro...

Answer 4

I like seitan a lot for chicken-y things.  The texture is better than tofu.

I recently tried soy curls, which are made from whole soybeans.  They are dried and you soak them in warm water to rehydrate them before cooking with them.  I rehydrated some in a vegan "chicken" broth, with a little teriyaki sauce and used them in a stir fry.  The taste and texture was great.  I haven't found them locally, but you can order them online (I got them either at Food Fight or Vegan Essentials.)