Best way to add "chicken skin" to vegan drumsticks
April 24, 2021 8:11 AM Subscribe
I'm fond of these vegan drumsticks made by May Wah (a company that specializes in faux meats). I use them to make Buffalo wings. I air-fry the drumsticks (without any extra coating) and then toss them with Buffalo sauce after they're cooked. How can I add a crispy "skin" to them?
There's a local vegan restaurant that serves these exact drumsticks as Buffalo wings, though I'm pretty sure the restaurant deep-fries them instead of using an air fryer. The restaurant wings have a crispy outer layer. I don't know their recipe. I'd like to duplicate this skin in an air fryer, if possible.
On one occasion, I deep-fried the wings using the same flour/starch-based batter that Kenji López-Alt uses in this recipe for cauliflower bites. The result was a disaster. After I tossed the wings with Buffalo sauce, the cooked batter turned into a slimy, horrible mess. I did not try this in an air fryer, but I assume it would also not work.
There's a local vegan restaurant that serves these exact drumsticks as Buffalo wings, though I'm pretty sure the restaurant deep-fries them instead of using an air fryer. The restaurant wings have a crispy outer layer. I don't know their recipe. I'd like to duplicate this skin in an air fryer, if possible.
On one occasion, I deep-fried the wings using the same flour/starch-based batter that Kenji López-Alt uses in this recipe for cauliflower bites. The result was a disaster. After I tossed the wings with Buffalo sauce, the cooked batter turned into a slimy, horrible mess. I did not try this in an air fryer, but I assume it would also not work.
I've never done this, but I would try a wonton wrapper around the "chicken" for a skin like effect. Should crisp up well when fried.
posted by dis_integration at 8:43 AM on April 24, 2021
posted by dis_integration at 8:43 AM on April 24, 2021
the cooked batter turned into a slimy, horrible mess.
That's typically an issue with the fry oil being too cool. It can also happen if the pan is overloaded. I find that small batches are really essential with these tempura-style coatings. A thermometer of some sort is your best friend for this (here's the one we use---same company as the Thermopen but 1/3 the price).
Here is another option, for vegan Korean BBQ cauliflower, though again it's very similar to the Lopez-Alt one you link to.
Finally a true tempura batter omits the flour and might be a little more straight forward.
For all of these though, oil temperature and small batches are really critical. If you have one a wok is a really fantastic vessel for small volume deepfrying, as the wide pan and the bell shape catch much of the spatter.
posted by bonehead at 8:45 AM on April 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
That's typically an issue with the fry oil being too cool. It can also happen if the pan is overloaded. I find that small batches are really essential with these tempura-style coatings. A thermometer of some sort is your best friend for this (here's the one we use---same company as the Thermopen but 1/3 the price).
Here is another option, for vegan Korean BBQ cauliflower, though again it's very similar to the Lopez-Alt one you link to.
Finally a true tempura batter omits the flour and might be a little more straight forward.
For all of these though, oil temperature and small batches are really critical. If you have one a wok is a really fantastic vessel for small volume deepfrying, as the wide pan and the bell shape catch much of the spatter.
posted by bonehead at 8:45 AM on April 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Rice paper! This video is one I've followed before to great results, but I've seen all sorts of takes on it - it makes a super realistic 'skin' on roast seitan chicken, too, if you baste it with spices and oils as you would a real chicken.
posted by DSime at 8:56 AM on April 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by DSime at 8:56 AM on April 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
I will add that for the rice paper to work I suspect you absolutely need a little extra oil - just air-frying without any seems like it will end up being too crunchy and maybe burned. I would brush the drumsticks with a very light coat of vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt after wrapping them and before I put them in the air fryer.
posted by DSime at 9:00 AM on April 24, 2021
posted by DSime at 9:00 AM on April 24, 2021
Tofu skin (yuba) might be a little too thick, but it was the first thing that came to mind. But I feel like others are on the right track with rice paper. When wet, it could be molded to the 'wing' and then flash fried.
posted by QuakerMel at 9:50 AM on April 24, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by QuakerMel at 9:50 AM on April 24, 2021 [8 favorites]
Panko crumbs and some egg? (I've never tried this. It might be awful.)
Edit: I realize that's not vegan. Sorry.
posted by eotvos at 10:16 AM on April 24, 2021
Edit: I realize that's not vegan. Sorry.
posted by eotvos at 10:16 AM on April 24, 2021
You can reengineer recipes that call for an egg, which is used as glue, to use probably some xanthan gum / gelatin instead. But it'll take some experimentation.
posted by kschang at 11:13 AM on April 24, 2021
posted by kschang at 11:13 AM on April 24, 2021
I've never cooked with yuba but the first time I saw it in a dim sum joint, I thought it was chicken skin. For what that's worth.
posted by tmdonahue at 6:07 AM on April 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by tmdonahue at 6:07 AM on April 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Not vegan, big food nerd, and I came to say yuba, too.
posted by Kreiger at 7:43 PM on April 25, 2021
posted by Kreiger at 7:43 PM on April 25, 2021
So evidently there are a lot of regional name variations - there are lots of regional type and use variations too.
You want the stuff that's used to make "bean curd wrap with minced pork" or (pan fried) "crispy bean curd skin with vegetables." The crispiness of the later and its ability to soak up sauces afterwards and still provide texture suggests to me that it'll achieve the effect your local vegan restaurant is able to achieve through frying and that air frying will be viable.
The pan fried stuff - they'll also contain sauces inside them really. You might consider rolling them in (dry) corn starch after assembling and before air frying, so they'll grab sauce a little better. If deep frying, I could envisage them taking on a regular light batter like a meat wing/ drummet.
The kind you want, has lots of little fine crinkles; I've seen fresh and frozen in stacked flat 6x6" - 10x10"-ish (square or round) packets. Dried, they still have the crinkles and they're a little bit shiny and a little bit translucent. No big folds (if any, they're thin and along long axes) and you'll have to rehydrate them and they aren't as "firm" afterwards as the frozen kind and generally a little harder to work with.
The other major kinds that you'll find dried are rolled or have big thick folds and kind of look like sticks or elongated pucks. These are used for stews and won't work for your application as you won't be able to get sheets out of them.
There are the thicker kinds and come in a few different grades. They're used in strips for soups and soup deserts or tied into knots for stew. They also won't work for your application as they're structurally weaker and thicker.
If the package comes with instructions, and the instructions include pan frying - these are your dudes.
I think that slicing into ~1" strips and wrapping them slightly overlapping mummy-like around the textured vegetable protein chunks may work best; otherwise they might come undone during the frying/ shaking process.
You can probably figure out how to wrap around the starting end (like make a "J" and wrap around the short bit) and tuck the finishing end inside to maintain structural integrity.
They dry out kind of quick so keep them under a moist towel when working with them.
posted by porpoise at 8:47 PM on April 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
You want the stuff that's used to make "bean curd wrap with minced pork" or (pan fried) "crispy bean curd skin with vegetables." The crispiness of the later and its ability to soak up sauces afterwards and still provide texture suggests to me that it'll achieve the effect your local vegan restaurant is able to achieve through frying and that air frying will be viable.
The pan fried stuff - they'll also contain sauces inside them really. You might consider rolling them in (dry) corn starch after assembling and before air frying, so they'll grab sauce a little better. If deep frying, I could envisage them taking on a regular light batter like a meat wing/ drummet.
The kind you want, has lots of little fine crinkles; I've seen fresh and frozen in stacked flat 6x6" - 10x10"-ish (square or round) packets. Dried, they still have the crinkles and they're a little bit shiny and a little bit translucent. No big folds (if any, they're thin and along long axes) and you'll have to rehydrate them and they aren't as "firm" afterwards as the frozen kind and generally a little harder to work with.
The other major kinds that you'll find dried are rolled or have big thick folds and kind of look like sticks or elongated pucks. These are used for stews and won't work for your application as you won't be able to get sheets out of them.
There are the thicker kinds and come in a few different grades. They're used in strips for soups and soup deserts or tied into knots for stew. They also won't work for your application as they're structurally weaker and thicker.
If the package comes with instructions, and the instructions include pan frying - these are your dudes.
I think that slicing into ~1" strips and wrapping them slightly overlapping mummy-like around the textured vegetable protein chunks may work best; otherwise they might come undone during the frying/ shaking process.
You can probably figure out how to wrap around the starting end (like make a "J" and wrap around the short bit) and tuck the finishing end inside to maintain structural integrity.
They dry out kind of quick so keep them under a moist towel when working with them.
posted by porpoise at 8:47 PM on April 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the tips. I haven't had a chance to try any of them yet, so I'm not marking anything as "best answer". I'll try to remember to post an update after I've run some experiments.
posted by alex1965 at 7:26 PM on May 2, 2021
posted by alex1965 at 7:26 PM on May 2, 2021
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