Vegan Chicken Balls
If you're craving Chinese takeout, these vegan Chinese-inspired chicken balls are a must! They're soft and moist on the inside and crispy and golden on the outside. They're served perfectly with rice and my homemade sweet and sour sauce.
Serving Size 3 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
For the sweet and sour sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soya sauce
- 1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
For the vegan chicken balls
- 350 grams extra firm tofu
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon vegan chicken stock powder
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
For the batter
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the sweet and sour sauce
- Add all of the ingredients except the cornstarch slurry to a pot and heat on medium-high heat.
- Whisk to combine and bring the liquid to an active simmer.
- Mix the cornstarch and water and add to the sauce.
- Whisk together and simmer for a couple more minutes until thick.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
For the vegan chicken balls.
- Drain the tofu, wrap it in paper towel, and place it under a heavy object bowl or pan. Set aside for 10 minutes to press out the excess moisture.
- Grate the tofu using a hand grater or food processor.
- Add the grated tofu, salt, pepper, paprika, utritional yeast, vegan chicken stock powder and sesame oil to a medium sized bowl. Gently mix to combine.
- Add the flour and mix to combine. The mixture should be slightly wet and sticky. You should be able to form the mixture into balls.
- Divide the tofu mixture into 12 portions and form each portion into a ball. You can gently squeeze the mixture together to help it stick.
- Whisk the batter ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
- Heat about 4 cups of neutral oil in a large heavy bottom pan over medium heat. If you have a cooking thermometer, 350 degrees fahrenheit is ideal for deep frying.
- Once the oil is hot, dip each tofu ball into the batter. Let the excess batter drip off and gently place in the hot oil. Make sure to use a long heat-safe utensil to do this. You can do this in 2 batches, so as not to overcrowd the pot.
- Cook each tofu ball for 4 minutes per side. They should be golden brown and crispy.
- Remove the vegan chicken balls from the hot oil using chopsticks or a deep frying spider scooper. Transfer to a dish lined with paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
- Enjoy with rice or noodles and the sweet and sour sauce,
Video
