If you can’t seem to decide between a sweet and savory breakfast, you’ll be very happy with this chicken & waffles dish. In our recipe, we’re using homemade waffles topped with fried seitan chicken nuggets, all drizzled with maple syrup. It’s the perfect start to a lazy weekend.
Ingredients
For Chicken
- ½ cup (60 g) vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup (30 g) chickpea flour + 1 cup (120 g), divided
- ½ tablespoon chicken seasoning + ½ teaspoon, divided
- ⅓ cup (75 ml) sparkling water
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- ¼ teaspoon sriracha
- ½ cup (75 g) breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (15 g) panko flakes
- oil for frying
For Waffles
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ¾ cup (180 ml) plant-based milk, e.g., rice milk
- maple syrup, for topping
How to Make It
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For Chicken
- Combine vital wheat gluten, ¼ cup chickpea flour, and chicken seasoning in a mixing bowl. Add the sparkling water. Stir to combine and use a kitchen machine to knead the homemade seitan for 5 minutes or knead it by hand for 10 minutes.
- Add a steaming basket to a large pot and fill with a couple of inches of water. Bring the water to a boil.
- Divide the seitan into 6 equal pieces and press them into a nugget shape 1-inch (3 cm) thick. Add the seitan nuggets into the steaming basket and let them steam for about 20 minutes, flipping them after 10 minutes.
- Combine the remaining chickpea flour, water, and sriracha and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, all-purpose flour, and panko flakes.
- Once the nuggets are soft, let them cool off a bit, then dip them first in the egg replacement, then coat them in the breading. Repeat until all nuggets are coated.
- Heat the oil for frying in a pot (just enough so that the nuggets can swim; make sure there’s enough room in the pot to prevent it from spilling over) to 350°F/175°C, and carefully add the breaded seitan nuggets (work in batches). Fry for 4 minutes until golden and crispy and transfer the nuggets onto a paper towel to remove excess oil. For Waffles
- Combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add in the milk and whisk until combined. It should be a thick, sticky batter.
- Heat a waffle iron and coat it generously with baking spray or coconut oil so that the waffles don’t stick to the iron later.
- Use about ¼ cup waffle batter for each waffle to make 4 waffles. Let the waffles cook in the iron or pan until slightly brown on the edges.
- Once you’ve made all the waffles, stack them up, add the vegan chicken on top, and drizzle with maple syrup.
