Although I’ve never had a “real” buffalo wing, I get the concept: combine hot sauce and butter and toss piping hot “wings” into it. Shake. Serve with a cooling ranch dressing and crisp celery. Armed with this knowledge, I got to work veganizing the buffalo wing this weekend, using garlic, sriracha, unpressed tofu and my jumbo-sized, stainless-steel prep bowl. Smothering every inch of these deep-fried tofu triangles with a rich, sriracha-laced sauce created a delightfully spicy, crunchy, glazey and altogether addictive vegan buffalo wing.
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GARLIC-SRIRACHA VEGAN BUFFALO WINGS
- Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
for the dressing
- 1/2 cup Vegenaise
- 2–3 TB fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 TB onion powder
- a few dashes of pepper
for the sauce
- 3 TB Earth Balance
- 5–6 cloves of garlic, halved and smashed
- 1 small shallot, sliced
- 3 TB sriracha
- 1 tsp raw agave
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- dash of liquid smoke (optional)
for the wings
- 1 block of tofu, unpressed, cut into triangles
- 1 1/2 tsp Ener-G, whisked with 5 TB water
- 1–2 cups cornstarch
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
To make the dressing
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients together. Set aside.
To make the sauce
- Add one tablespoon of the vegan butter into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add in the smashed garlic and shallots and saute until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and then add in the remaining two tablespoons of vegan butter, sriracha, agave, vinegar, salt and liquid smoke. Let simmer while making the wings, giving it a little stir every now and then.
To make the wings
- Set up two wide and shallow bowls. Place the Ener-G/water mixture in one and the cornstarch in the other.
- Heat plenty of oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. You can tell that the oil is ready by dropping a pinch of the cornstarch into it: if it sizzles immediately, you are ready to fry.
- Dunk one of the triangles into the Ener-G mixture, then coat it with a thin layer of cornstarch, tapping off any excess. Drop into the oil (only fry two pieces at a time) and fry until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oil with silicone tongs and place on paper towels to drain.
- Place the buffalo wings sauce into a large prep bowl, then throw in the tofu triangles. Gently toss them until well coated.
- Plate the wings, drizzling any excess buffalo wing sauce and soft chunks of garlic and shallots over the top. Serve with the ranch dressing, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and crisp slices of fresh celery.
