One of my favorite shows on The Food Network is Heat Seekers, which features two chefs—Aarón Sanchez and Roger Mooking—sampling the most notoriously spicy dishes throughout the US. Virtually none of the dishes they feature are vegan, but it’s interesting to see the array of foods that are doused in hot sauce, how its prepared and hear about the experience from the people who consume them. I was inspired to make a fiery buffalo wing dish (which I’ve made before with tofu) after watching an episode last week, using my new favorite ingredient—soy curls. These wings are deep fried, then doused in a ratio 1:3 ratio of Earth Balance and sriracha sauce, with a side of cooling ranch dip, made from a mixture of fresh parsley and Vegenaise. The sauce still wasn’t hot enough for me, so I added in a generous tablespoon of dried habanero powder, which made these ridiculously hot and amazingly good.
SRIRACHA-HABANERO VEGAN BUFFALO WINGS
- Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
for the wings
- 1 cup Butler Soy Curls
- 1 1/2 cup Imagine Brand No-Chicken broth
- 4–5 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 1 tsp salt
to fry
- 1 cup cornstarch, placed into a large and shallow bowl
- 1/2 tsp Ener-G, whisked with 5 TB cold water, placed into a large and shallow bowl
- plenty of vegetable oil, for frying
for the cooling sauce
- 1/3 cup Vegenaise
- 1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
for the hot sauce glaze
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted
- 1 1/2 cup sriracha
- optional: chopped fresh habanero, habanero powder, sambal
Instructions
- Place the soy curls, broth, smashed garlic and salt into a small saucepan. Bring to a small boil over medium heat, then turn the heat off. Allow the soy curls to sit in the hot liquid for about 10 minutes.
- Drain the soy curls using a fine mesh strainer. Place the soy curls into a towel and cover it with another towel. Put a heavy pan or pot on top to get some of the moisture out for about 10 minutes.
- Place plenty of vegetable oil (at least 5 inches high) into another small saucepan over medium-high heat. While it is heating (it will take about 7 minutes), prepare your cooling sauce by combining the Vegenaise, parsley and garlic powder together. Set aside.
- Now you should be ready to fry the soy curls. Place a wooden spoon into the oil, touching the bottom of the pan. If bubbles form immediately around it, you are ready to fry. Place the soy curls into the water/Ener-G mixture, then toss them into the cornstarch, coating well and tapping off any excess. Working in small batches, gently drop them into the oil, piece by piece, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Allow to fry for 3-4 minutes, then remove them from the oil using a skimmer. Place them onto paper towels to drain. Repeat the process until all of the soy curls are fried.
- In another large skillet, melt the Earth Balance over medium-low heat. Add in the sriracha and stir. Now, throw in the soy curls, and stir until well coated. Add a bit more vegan butter and hot sauce as needed to cover all of the pieces. Taste, then add more heat to taste as needed. As soon as the pieces are warmed through and thoroughly coated in the hot sauce, serve immediately with the cooling sauce on the side.
Glo says
I love that show, and I love the way these look. I also happen to have some soy curls in my freezer!!!! Damn I think this weekend for the play-off these are on my lips! Thanks for this awesome post!
erinwyso says
Thank you Glo! I love it that you love spicy too! I hope you enjoy the recipe! : )
Andrea says
I wonder if it's soy curls you have in the freezer? Since they are dehydrated, they can be stored in the pantry.
I have been looking for a recipe for the ones I have and this looks amazing.
Glo says
@Andrea, I'm pretty sure they are soy curls, I bought them in the freezer section so I brought them home and froze them. LOL — I had out of town company so I didn't get around to making these. Maybe for super bowl???
Amybeth Hurst says
What a great recipe. Thanks for sharing. Amybeth Hurst, Portland, ME
Richa says
my gosh Erin.. the wings with all that spice look fantastic! these are what will get served on the weekend playoff game day!
erinwyso says
thanks Richa! I'm so excited you are going to make them … Enjoy!
The Unintentional Vegan says
One of my favorite things is tossing soy curls in Frank's. I will definitely have to try this method!
Melomeals says
oh yes please!!!
Jennifer says
As a Buffalo Native and 'near' Vegan – These intrigue me that is for sure!!!
Angry Asian says
i'm kinda obsessed with sriacha, always have been.
something that i do not do is deep fry. and i love me some wings, tho i avoid it cus of the use of butter. i have yet to try soy curls, i haven't seen it in the markets.
LittleMonsterx14 says
mmmmm i have wanted to make veggie buffalo wings for so long!
Anonymous says
can you direct me on the "ener-g"
thank you
Denise
erinwyso says
Ener-G is a vegan egg replacer — I've updated the recipe to link to the product: https://www.ener-g.com/products/egg-replacer
erinwyso says
Thank you! The habanero+sriracha mix was quite the nuclear combo!
Maggie Muggins says
I love the idea of these, they look so good! But habanero + sriracha? Oh man, I’m afraid my head will burst into flames.
Rebecca says
These would be perfect for the first hockey game of the season tomorrow. Go Red Wings!
Lindsay says
These look wonderful. Appetizer for SuperBowl Sunday?? Yes, please!
Tonya says
Where do you get soy curls in the Boston area?
Kristina @ spabettie says
buffalo bites are one of the very first things I made the first time I got my hands on soy curls years ago – it was definitely what made them a favorite staple in our house 🙂
these sound SO good, I may have to make them for the weekend!
erinwyso says
Thanks Kristina! Aren't soy curls a fantastic product?
vedgedout.com says
Dude, I thought I subscribed to your blog, but I don't get updates. I'm missing out. For reals!?! I'll have to see if I can fix that! These are insane! I'm about to explode just looking at them. And of course I have everything to make them in my pantry. xx
erinwyso says
I wonder what is happening to the email deliveries?! Let me know if you continue to have problems and I'll look into into it further.
I hope you enjoy the wings, Somer!
dleatherland says
These do look amazing! And as a huge fan of "wings," I am missing them now that we've transitioned to a vegan lifestyle. Any helpful suggestions for those of us trying to avoid the oils and deep-frying? Any hints for an oven-baked substitute?
erinwyso says
Thank you! Deep-frying is always my preference over baking, although I understand that's not everybody's thing. With that, I'm afraid I don't have much advice on how to make an equivalent of these without using oils or deep-frying!
Perhaps trying these baked cauliflower wings may be another good option for you? Good luck! http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/spicy-buffalo-cauliflower-wings.aspx
Gloria Huerta says
THey look amazing! But ditto with regard to the frying. I have baked soycurls before to get a "pork rind" effect and they are delicious! I love revising fried recipes to non-fried! Give me the challenge! LOL!
Anonymous says
This is a perfect recipe! Loved every bite of these spicy little bites
erinwyso says
So happy you enjoyed, thanks for letting me know!