Vegan Fried Chicken Steak Recipe

This vegan fried chicken steak is a seitan cutlet, steamed until firm, dredged in seasoned flour, then shallow fried until the crust cracks when you cut it. It takes about an hour, most of it hands off in the steamer, and it comes with a simple flour and stock gravy. The texture is firm and layered rather than soft.

Fried chicken steaks have always been a favourite Southern dish of mine, and this vegan fried chicken steak is the plant-based version I keep coming back to. It is not a health food, it is a fried dinner, but it is a good one.

What is seitan and why steam it first?

Seitan is wheat gluten hydrated into a dough and then cooked. How you handle the gluten strands decides whether you get something that pulls apart like a cutlet or something that bounces like a squash ball.

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Two things matter most. The first is kneading time. Three minutes brings the dough together and gives it structure, while ten minutes tightens the gluten so far that the finished steak turns rubbery. The second is the cooking method. Steaming sets the dough gently in its own moisture, so it does not swell or soak up water, which is exactly what happens when you boil seitan in liquid instead.

The mashed white beans do quiet work too. They break up the gluten network slightly, which softens the bite.

Ingredients

For the Seitan Steak

• ½ cup white beans, mashed (about 100 g)
• ½ cup vegetable broth (125 ml)
• 1 ¼ cup wheat gluten flour (about 150 g)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp salt

For the Breading

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (about 125 g)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Binder

• 5 tbsp water (75 ml)
• 3 tbsp flour

Extra

• Vegetable oil, for frying

Gravy Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup vegetable stock (375 ml)
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• ½ tsp better than bouillon vegetable base
• ¼ tsp thyme leaves, dried
• Salt-Pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all the seitan ingredients in a mixing bowl apart from the vegetable broth.
2. Add the vegetable stock and knead with your hands for about 3 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, dust with more flour. If it is too dry, add a bit more vegetable broth. Stop at 3 minutes even if it looks a little rough, over-kneading is what makes seitan rubbery.
3. After kneading the dough, split into 4 equal parts. Let the pieces rest for 10 minutes if you have time, as rested dough rolls out far more easily.
4. Take each dough part and roll out until you get a thin steak, around 1 cm thick. Steam each seitan steak for 45 minutes. Wrap them loosely in baking paper or foil if your steamer basket is open, so they hold their shape.
5. Combine the ingredients of the breading in a shallow bowl or dish. In the meantime, combine all binder ingredients in another bowl, this will be your “egg” wash. Whisk it until no lumps remain, it should be about the thickness of pouring cream.
6. Dip each steak into the flour combo first, then to the liquid binder combo and finally back into the flour. Make sure the steaks are nicely coated from all sides. Press the second coat of flour on firmly with your fingertips, those ridges are what turn into the crunchy bits.
7. Add enough oil to cover the steaks (around 50% depth-wise). Heat the oil to about 175 C (350 F) and once it is shimmering, add the seitan steaks to fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they become golden brown. Fry in batches so the oil temperature does not crash.
8. Take off the oil and transfer the steaks onto a dish lined with kitchen paper. A wire rack works better still, as it keeps the underside from steaming itself soft.
9. To prepare your gravy, add the vegan butter to melt into a saucepan over medium fire.
10. Once melted, add the flour and whisk well to combine. Let this roux cook for a minute or two until it smells nutty rather than of raw flour.
11. Gradually add in the vegetable stock in a few batches while whisking to combine and break off any clumps. Add the bouillon base and thyme with the first batch of stock.
12. Once the sauce has thickened enough to cover the back of a spoon, take off the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, remembering that the bouillon is already salty.
13. Serve the steaks with some gravy sauce poured on top and you are all set.

How do you get the crust properly crisp?

Temperature is most of it. Oil that is too cool soaks into the coating instead of setting it, and you get a heavy, greasy crust. Without a thermometer, drop in a pinch of the seasoned flour. It should sizzle steadily and rise, not sit there quietly and not spit violently.

The rest is patience with the dredge. Let the coated steaks sit for five minutes before they go in the pan so the flour hydrates and grips, otherwise the coating sheds in the oil. Serve them the moment they come out, and pour the gravy at the table rather than in the kitchen.

Mashed potato is the obvious side, since it gives the gravy somewhere to go. Steamed greens with lemon, a sharp slaw or corn on the cob all cut through the fried coating.

How long does it keep?

Cooked steaks keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat them in a hot oven or an air fryer at about 190 C (375 F) for 8 to 10 minutes so the crust firms back up, as a microwave will make them soft. Steamed but unbreaded seitan keeps better, lasting 5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. The gravy keeps 4 days and thickens as it chills, so loosen it with a splash of stock.

Vegan fried chicken steak FAQ

Can I make this gluten-free?

Not this recipe. Seitan is wheat gluten, so it is the one ingredient that cannot be swapped out. If you need gluten-free, the closest result comes from thick slabs of extra-firm tofu, pressed well and marinated, or from large oyster mushrooms torn into cutlets. Use a gluten-free flour blend for the dredge and the binder, and cut the frying time by a minute or so a side.

Can I bake or air fry these instead of frying?

Yes, with a trade-off in texture. Spray the breaded steaks generously with oil on both sides and air fry at 200 C (400 F) for around 12 minutes, turning halfway, or bake on a wire rack at the same temperature for 20 to 25 minutes. You get a drier, crunchier coating rather than the shattering crust that shallow frying gives you.

Why did my seitan turn out rubbery?

Almost always too much kneading, or boiling instead of steaming. Three minutes of kneading is plenty, and the dough should still look slightly shaggy when you stop. Steaming keeps the dough from taking on water and swelling into a sponge. Rolling the steaks too thick will do it as well, since the inside never sets properly.

Can I make the steaks ahead of time?

Yes, and it is the better way to cook them for guests. Steam the seitan steaks up to two days ahead and keep them in the fridge, or freeze them for up to three months. Bread and fry them just before serving, which takes about ten minutes and leaves you with only the gravy to finish.

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