Tried this recipe? Please click on the stars to rate it! Click the heart to bookmark.
These vegan seitan wings get slow cooked in broth, then fried right before serving for an amazingly tasty result! I love them for game days, parties, or just about any time! (I mean, really, when are wings ever not awesome?!?)
Finally, when it comes to wing sauce I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I don't eat them very often but when I do it's partly because I'm craving that Frank's Red Hot flavor. When it comes to the ratio of butter and garlic powder to the Red Hot I usually just "wing" it lol, but I've written down my best guess.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare your dough ball for washing. New to washing flour? Check out the video or follow steps 1-7 here. To get the shreddy texture you see in the image, you'll want to wash the flour to the cloudy/hazy stage.
While your dough ball is resting in water, prepare your simmering liquid. I add everything into my slow cooker and get it heating up. A 6 qt Instant Pot on the slow cooker "less" setting works great, too.
IMPORTANT: My broth stayed at a steady temperature of about 180-190F (82-85C). If cooking on the stove make sure it stays below a simmer after adding in the seitan. You want it to be barely bubbling or you could wind up with spongey results.
Once your gluten has drained for at least 20 minutes after washing, wring it out really well to make sure there's no extra water and add it to a processor (working in batches if necessary) with 3T of chickun bouillon. Blitz until those ingredients are evenly incorporated.
After processing, divide your gluten into 24 pieces and let it rest for about an hour or two on the counter or until the gluten has developed enough so you can stretch it without breaking. You'll want to be able to stretch each little gluten ball into a long string so you can wrap it around the skewers, twisting the dough as you wrap.
Regardless of whether you're interested in making the "drumettes" or the "flats," stretch the gluten as far as you can and wrap it around the stick. Add more to either the center or the top depending on your preference, and finally leave enough to stretch the gluten lengthwise over the top and bottom of the stick to secure everything in place.
It may take a few to get the hang of it, but they will all be delicious!
If you'd prefer to go "boneless" (no sticks,) tie each gluten string in a few knots, twisting each as you go.
Add your wrapped or knotted wings to the preheated broth and let them slowly cook for about 30 mins - 1 hr. Check them to make sure they're not overheating (simmering at too high a temperature) or sticking to the bottom. You're looking for barely a bubble here and there. They should all be floating once fully cooked.
When they're done, pull them out of the broth. You can flatten knotted balls some with a rolling pin while they're still hot if you prefer a flatter nugget. Rest them overnight out of the broth in the fridge.
When ready to serve, heat up about 1 cup of frying oil (anything with a high smoke temp like peanut or grapeseed works great) or enough to coat at least half of each wing.
While the oil is heating, prepare the wing sauce by putting the ingredients into a small pot. Heat the sauce over medium/low until the butter is melted and the sauce is hot.
Working in batches, cook the wings in the hot oil for about 1 minute total, flipping once halfway through so they're slightly browned on both sides. Finally, transfer the warmed wing sauce to a bowl and toss the wings, in batches as necessary, until they are all evenly coated. Serve as hot as possible!
Servings 6
More Chickun Recipes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare your dough ball for washing. New to washing flour? Check out the video or follow steps 1-7 here. To get the shreddy texture you see in the image, you'll want to wash the flour to the cloudy/hazy stage.
While your dough ball is resting in water, prepare your simmering liquid. I add everything into my slow cooker and get it heating up. A 6 qt Instant Pot on the slow cooker "less" setting works great, too.
IMPORTANT: My broth stayed at a steady temperature of about 180-190F (82-85C). If cooking on the stove make sure it stays below a simmer after adding in the seitan. You want it to be barely bubbling or you could wind up with spongey results.
Once your gluten has drained for at least 20 minutes after washing, wring it out really well to make sure there's no extra water and add it to a processor (working in batches if necessary) with 3T of chickun bouillon. Blitz until those ingredients are evenly incorporated.
After processing, divide your gluten into 24 pieces and let it rest for about an hour or two on the counter or until the gluten has developed enough so you can stretch it without breaking. You'll want to be able to stretch each little gluten ball into a long string so you can wrap it around the skewers, twisting the dough as you wrap.
Regardless of whether you're interested in making the "drumettes" or the "flats," stretch the gluten as far as you can and wrap it around the stick. Add more to either the center or the top depending on your preference, and finally leave enough to stretch the gluten lengthwise over the top and bottom of the stick to secure everything in place.
It may take a few to get the hang of it, but they will all be delicious!
If you'd prefer to go "boneless" (no sticks,) tie each gluten string in a few knots, twisting each as you go.
Add your wrapped or knotted wings to the preheated broth and let them slowly cook for about 30 mins - 1 hr. Check them to make sure they're not overheating (simmering at too high a temperature) or sticking to the bottom. You're looking for barely a bubble here and there. They should all be floating once fully cooked.
When they're done, pull them out of the broth. You can flatten knotted balls some with a rolling pin while they're still hot if you prefer a flatter nugget. Rest them overnight out of the broth in the fridge.
When ready to serve, heat up about 1 cup of frying oil (anything with a high smoke temp like peanut or grapeseed works great) or enough to coat at least half of each wing.
While the oil is heating, prepare the wing sauce by putting the ingredients into a small pot. Heat the sauce over medium/low until the butter is melted and the sauce is hot.
Working in batches, cook the wings in the hot oil for about 1 minute total, flipping once halfway through so they're slightly browned on both sides. Finally, transfer the warmed wing sauce to a bowl and toss the wings, in batches as necessary, until they are all evenly coated. Serve as hot as possible!
Making them now wish me luck
Good luck, but hopefully you won’t need it!
do you think the texture of washed flour seitan is superior to straight vital wheat gluten?
I do, especially when it comes to replicating chicken, and even some beefy-type dishes like steak or brisket, though it can be a little soft for those if not done correctly. I started really experimenting with it because I am sensitive to the taste of vital wheat gluten, and my husband really dislikes it. When it comes to well-seasoned dishes like sausages, etc, I think that VWG does a better job for its texture and can be seasoned heavily enough to overcome that taste.
What if I wanted to use Vital Wheat Gluten for this? How much?
I think I might have just responded to you on Reddit – but just in case – I do think washed flour makes the best replacement for vegan chicken that I’ve ever tried. That said, you can possibly get a similar consistency and shrediness with a recipe like this: http://seitansociety.com/recipes/shredded-vegan-chicken-potatoes/ I would have to test this recipe specifically by slow cooking in broth to see if it would yield similar results.
If I use Better Than Boullion, how much would I need?
Whoops- I meant if I use BTB instead of the broth, how much do I need?
Hi, Alex – Basically you just need enough broth for the wings to cook in and have enough room so they don’t all stick together. This depends on how big your slow cooker or pot is, but as a guess you’ll likely need at least 4 cups of broth to achieve this (possibly more) and for the most flavor you’ll need 1 tsp per cup of Better Than Bouillon paste as recommended on the jar.
Thank you! These are delicious and have wonderful texture. I really miss chicken wings; so much so I would occasionally indulge knowing full well how awful I would feel later. No more. I have been instructed by the fam to double or maybe triple the recipe in future LOL!
So happy you enjoyed them and thank you for sharing that with me! It makes me feel good to know that I am helping, even in a small way, and reminds me why I started this site and creating my own recipes in the first place. ☺️
Wow. Was intimidated by this because of the amount of work I thought it would require, but these are definitely worth the effort. A very chewy, meat like mouth feel which is great. My one question is… did I wash too much of the starch out? They are a bit rubbery, but not in a bad way, just a bit les tender than I was expecting. Thoughts?
This was my first time using the wash the flour technique so wasn’t sure how fast to go.
You may want to wash out a little less starch next time for a more tender texture. Also if they’re served hot they should be a little more tender than if they’ve cooled. Happy you enjoyed them!
How necessary is it to leave them overnight? If I made them in the morning and left them to rest, could I cook them in the evening?
The rest period is to help them firm up and dry out a bit before frying, but yes, you can absolutely make in the morning and cook in the evening. I might recommend patting them dry just before frying if they still seem wet.
When you say “add to processor”, can you please specify? Food processor, electric mixer? and if so, for how long? Thanks!
Food processor. 🙂 I apologize for the confusion. You can also use a blender, or cut the seasonings in with a knife or kitchen scissors if you don’t have either. “Process” until the seasoning is evenly mixed in. Hope that helps!