08.24.12_Buffalo Popcorn Chik'n

Phillip's new job is located right by a Hooters and a Nando's Peri Peri. Recently the smell of chicken at lunch time has been hard to resist so he told me we needed to make something with Buffalo Sauce ASAP to curve the craving. We contemplated making the Buffalo Friend Tofu that we have made several times but instead decided to use, you guessed it, seitan instead. Since the seitan comes in little bite size pieces I thought making popcorn chik'n would be a great idea.

I very rarely fry things and when I do I am often not satisfied with the crispiness I end up with. Luckily for this, the little chik'n/seitan bites came out with a nice, crispy skin. These would also be great served just plain with ketchup or BBQ sauce but because Phillip had specifically requested buffalo, after I fried them I doused them in a mixture of melted butter and buffalo sauce. Obviously they weren't as crispy after the soaked up the sauce but they were still insanely good and definitely satisfied Phillip's craving!

Buffalo Popcorn Chik'n 
Serves 2

• 8oz box seitan cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne (more or less based on preference)
• 1.5 cups flour
• 2 TBSP baking powder
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup water
• oil for frying

1. Drain the seitan and rinse it thoroughly to remove any of the preserving liquid from the packaging.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne, and baking powder).
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard and water. Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture into the wet mixture to create a very loose batter.
4. Coat the seitan cubes in the wet batter, then drop them into the dry mixture. Toss until the seitan cubes are thoroughly coated in the flour mixture.
5. Put about a cup of vegetable or canola oil into a 2qt sauce pan. Once the oil starts to ripple, drop the seitan cubes into the oil. Let the seitan fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are nice and golden brown.
6. Remove the seitan from the oil with a slotted spoon and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
7. In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of melted margarine and 1/2 of buffalo sauce. Toss the fried seitan in the buffalo sauce and serve hot!