Crispy Vegan Buttermilk Popcorn Bites
Fried. Food.
Yes, I know. Fried food isn’t healthy and should not be eaten. I understand that. I try to use breadcrumbs and then bake certain dishes to get a crunchy shell on them, and a lot of the time that does the trick and my fried food cravings abate for a while.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I will get a hankering for hot, crispy, golden brown chunks of goodness that can only be recreated with a vat of hot oil.
Sorrynotsorry.
There are certain foods that are part of the iconic American diet, and fried chicken definitely tops the list. If you have tried to replicate chicken dishes using tofu, you may have found that it doesn’t always work out due to the flavor not getting quite right or because the tofu starts to disintegrate.
But, you know Veggie Mama’s got our back, and I have found the BEST replacement for fried chicken. It’s yuba, a type of tofu skin that is super thin and then rolled again and again and until it forms what sort of looks like half a chicken breast. It is a bit brownish in color and can usually be found in the tofu section of the wet market or Carrefour.
This recipe uses coconut cream and apple cider vinegar instead of buttermilk, and you may be able to use a soy milk or silken tofu and apple cider vinegar mixture. All I can say is that the coconut cream in this recipe is the BOMB because it has this richness that can only be replicated by this full fat cream. Don’t worry, coconut cream will not make your fried tofu taste like coconut. That’s why I love using this stuff in basically every recipe that calls for dairy cream.
Buttermylk Popcorn Bites
Ingredients
- 5-6 tofu skin roll "cutlets", cut into bit sized chunks
- 1 C coconut cream
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 C flour
- 1 C panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried rubbed sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Pour the coconut cream into a large, shallow dish and add the apple cider vinegar. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.
- In another shallow pan, add the dry ingredients, and mix well, set aside.
- When the coconut cream buttermylk is ready, add the chunks of tofu “cutlets” and coat well, let sit while you heat the oil.
- In a heavy frying pan or wok, heat about 2.5cm of cooking oil.
- Working in batches, coat buttermylk battered tofu in flour, breadcrumb spice mixture.
- When oil is hot, cook each batch of nuggets about 2-3 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden brown. Place on a towel to remove excess oil.
Notes
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and make sure you take at least 3 of these for yourself before putting them on the table. Otherwise, you will be left feeling cold, hungry, and alone because everyone will eat them all immediately.