A couple corn dogs with a pile of bue potato fries.

Those of you that have become regular readers may have caught on to the fact that I have a pension for deep frying. As part of my mission to make vegan food more accessible to the public at large, I like to offer a counterpoint to the typical image of the sprouts and tofu idea of vegan cuisine, and what better than with something battered and fried on a stick. Besides, deep frying is pretty much the best way to cook anything.

Feeling a bit of diner nostalgia, I decided to whip up some corn dogs. While I generally like to use a course grind cornmeal, you will want a finer one for these. In fact, I went all the way and used corn flour. Corn flour will give you a nice soft and moist cornbread coating. You will need some sort of stick as well. You can find popsicle sticks in the craft section of some stores, or you can use wood skewers or chopsticks. For the hot dogs you can use whatever brand you fancy, but I highly recommend Big Franks.

Vegan Corn Dogs

1 cup soy milk
Egg replacer to equal 2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups corn flour or fine corn meal
2/3 cup flour
1 can Big Franks, or other vegan hot dogs

Flour for dusting (about 1/2 cup)
Oil for frying
Popsicle sticks

Heat oil to 375°F

In a large bowl mix soy milk, egg replacer, oil, sugar and salt. Stir in baking powder, corn flour, and flour.

Fill a tall glass or jar (at least as tall as the length of your hot dogs) about 3/4 full with the batter. Dry the hot dogs with paper towels and lightly dust with flour (this ensures that the batter will stick). Drive a popsicle stick most of the way through a hot dog. Hold the stick and dip into the glass and swirl to completely coat. Hold the battered dog above the glass to allow excess batter to drip away. Carefully drop into the hot oil. Repeat with remaining hot dogs, refilling the glass of batter as necessary. Fry 2-3 corn dogs at a time, being careful not to crowd the fryer. Fry until golden brown, turning as necessary. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

After finally getting around to making mochi I decided to take on my favorite dim sum dessert (mostly because it uses pretty much the same ingredients). Sesame balls (jin deui, Jian dui, or jen dai) are traditionally popular around Chinese new years but can be found year round at Chinese bakeries and dim sum restaurants. Essentially a deep fried daifuku mochi, it creates a perfect balance of a crisp crust, chewy rice pastry and sweet red bean paste.

The only real trick to these comes in the frying. As they begin to expand you need to use a spoon to press them against the side of the fryer to maintain their ball shape. It takes a little practice, but isn’t all that hard. If you can’t get it they will still taste great, they just won’t look as nice.

Sesame Balls

makes 10-12 balls

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup boiling water (plus more if needed)

3 cups glutinous rice flour

1/2 cup white sesame seeds

1 cup red bean paste (you probably won’t use that much)

Oil for frying

Heat oil in a deep fryer or wok to 350°

Dissolve the brown sugar in the boiling water. Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the dissolved sugar and mix until you have a sticky, caramel colored dough (add additional boiling water if necessary).

Palce sesame seeds on a plate of other flat bottomed dish. Fill a small bowl with cold water. Pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball and roll into a ball. With your finger poke a hole into the ball of dough. Roll a tsp of red bean past into a ball and press it into the hole. Pinch the dough to completely cover and seal (all of the filling needs to be completely covered). Dip the filled ball in the water and roll in sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining dough.

Fry balls in batches of 3-4. After the balls begin to float (about 2 min) use a metal spoon to gently press the balls against the edge of the fryer. Continue pressing and rotating to shape the balls into a round shape as they expand (and they will expand a bit). Cook until they have expanded to 2-3 times their original size and the outside is a deep golden brown.

Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

One use that was perfect for the new Teese was a margarita pizza. The round shape of the tube and the soft creaminess made it a good stand in for a buffalo mozzarella on the classic pizza.

I also used some to make up a batch of mozzarella sticks. I kicked up my previous recipe by using panko bread crumbs and adding vegan bacon bits to the breading. The Teese did not preform as well as I might have liked, and they were more like breaded cheese curds (but still very tasty). I may have not fried them long enough to get the frozen Teese to fully melt.

Continuing with the Chicago Soy Dairy Teese blog challenge, my next creation hails from our neighbors to the north. Perhaps the greatest gift the Canadians ever gave the world, poutine is the ingenious combination of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Traditionally poutine used a thin brown (usually beef) gravy, rather than a thicker, creamy gravy. For mine I used Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base for the broth. If you prefer you could use a good mushroom stock instead (purchased or home made). The creamy texture of the Teese lends itself perfectly to be a replacement for cheese curds, and may be the best use I found for it.

Vegan Poutine

2-3 large baking potatoes
3-4 oz Mozzarella Teese, crumbled

Gravy
2 Tbsp Earth Balance
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups vegan beef flavored or mushroom stock
salt and pepper
Oil for frying

Peel the potatoes and cut into approximately 1/2″x4″ fries. Place the fries in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan heat the Earth Balance over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for several minutes to make a dark roux (it should be a dark brown, but not burnt). Stir in the stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the gravy begins to thicken. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Heat oil to 375°. Drain potatoes and pat dry with paper towels. Fry, in batches if necessary, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.

Place fries on serving dishes, pour gravy over the top, and top with crumbled Teese.

The full spread.

I used my fried brussels sprouts recipe, but tossed them with carmelized onions, Bac'un bits and topped with fried onion.

Making your own craberry sauce takes mimimal effort and produced results that far outshine the canned stuff.

The sweet potato pie was my pumpkin pie recipe, but using sweet potato for the pumpkin and I replaced the glazed pecans with a pecan streusel.

Five punds of potatoes, two carmelized onions, and a head of roaseed garlic. Oh and a cup or two of Earth Balance.

]]> http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/t-day-recap/feed/ 0 http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/deep-fried-tofurky/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/deep-fried-tofurky/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:15:12 +0000 Justin http://newvegantable.com/?p=241

Tofurky has become an essential staple of the holiday season for many vegans. It is widely available, easy to prepare, and something your parents can grab from most major grocery stores that they are sure your can eat. After a time though, it can get boring, especially if you are just preparing it to the recipe on the box. While there are some good alternate recipes on Tofurky’s website, and you can always just play with different spice rubs and marinades, I prefer that great American culinary tradition: Deep Frying.

Before frying the Tofurky roast is heated in the oven. This is primarily to make sure the center is heated through, but is also an excellent time to add some extra flavor. You can use either of the standard marinade recipes on the package, or I have provided one below. Feel free to use your favorite spice blend or marinade. Harissa was particularly good, and Cajun spice would be a great choice, just be sure that whatever you use there is a good amount of liquid so the outside will not dry out in the oven. Deep frying gives the roast a delightful, crispy skin while retaining the flavors of whatever marinade you choose to use.

I like to get the Tofurky feast that comes with gravy and dumplings. You can usually find them on sale for a bargain either early in the season or late in the season (I like to pick them up after the holidays when they are on super close out). The dumplings are decent, but become exceptional after a good dip in the old deep fryer. Make sure to defrost your Tofurky roast and gravy in the fridge at least the night before you plan to cook them. I discovered (actually they mention it somewhere on the box, hidden away) that you get much better results if you carve the Tofurky more like an actual roast, shaving off thinner pieces, rather than cutting big slices like they picture on the box.

Deep Fried Tofurky

Marinade
1/8th cup orange juice
1/8th cup Braggs or soy sauce
1/8th cup dry white wine
1 tsp rubbed sage

Tofurky roast, defrosted according to package directions.
Tofurky Dumplings

Deep Fryer
Oil for frying

To Make the Tofurky

Heat oven to 300°. Mix marinade ingredients. Place Tofurky on a large piece of foil and add marinade. Seal Tofurky in foil and place on a pie plate or baking dish. Bake for 30 min. Heat oil to 375°. Deep fry about 5 min on each side, until well browned. Remove and drain briefly on paper towels before carving.

To Fry the Dumplings

Heat oil to 375°. Fry dumplings until browned, flipping half way through cooking. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Back to the fryer for another quick recipe. This is acctually a relitivly simple treatment for tempeh, as you don’t really need to bother marinading it, and it is still tasty. From time to time you can find sea vegetable tempeh in stores, which makes a great addition if you are hankering for something more on the fishy side. Serve with malt vinegar and squeeze of lemon.

Beer Battered Tempeh

1 12oz bottle beer
2 cups four, divided
salt and pepper

1 package tempeh, cut into about six strips.

Fries

2-3 large baking potatoes

oil for frying

To make the tempeh

Heat oil to 375°. Combine beer and 1 1/2 cup flour in a shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper. Place remaining 1/2 cup flour in a separate dish. Dip each strip of tempeh in batter then dredge in flour before frying. Fry tempeh until golden brown and batter is crispy. Drain on paper towels before serving.

To make the Fries

Peel potatoes and cut into fries. Soak fries in cold water for at least 10 min. Drain fries and dry on paper towels before frying. Fry at 375° until browned. Drain on paper towels, salt, and serve.

So, I actually love Brussels sprouts. That is, if they are prepared well. If care is not taken, Brussels sprouts can be a little bitter and off putting. Usually I like to roast or caramelize them, but that can take time. I also like any excuse to throw something in the deep fryer. This is a quick recipe that will convert most anyone to a sprout fan. It makes a great small plate or appetizer, or works well as a side to most dishes.

Fried Brussels Sprouts

1 lb Brussels Sprouts
lemon juice
red wine vinegar
pinch crushed red pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

oil for frying

To prepare

Wash sprouts and trim the darker outer leaves. Cut into quarters. Heat oil to 355° and fry sprouts until lightly browned and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Transfer sprouts to a bowl and season to taste with lemon juice, vinegar, red pepper, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss to mix and serve.

Vegan mozzarella sticks

8 oz block Daiya “Italian Style” cheese
1 cup four
1 cup soy milk, plus more as needed

1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper

Oil for frying

To Prepare

Mix four and soy milk in a wide shallow container, such as a pie plate. Thin with additional soy milk or water until the consistency of heavy cream. On a separate plate, mix bread crumbs with Italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper.

Cut Daiya into sticks about 1/2″x1/2″x3″. Dip each stick into the batter then roll in breadcrumbs. Repeat, giving each stick a second coat of batter and crumbs to build a thick crust. Place finished sticks on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze breaded sticks for at least two hours.

To Fry

Heat oil in a fryer or heavy pot to 375° and fry frozen sticks for about two min until crust is brown and cheese is soft. Fry sticks in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan and allow oil to return to 375° between batches. Drain on paper towels and serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

September is fair season up here in Washington. While I have no real interest in attending most state fairs, I do have a love of bizarre fried foods. Inspired by the fair’s relentless media campaign, I picked up a brace of Dillos from Sidecar and headed home to heat up the fryer. The folks at Cakewalk Baking Co in Utah have graced us with Dillos, or vegan Twinkies, which we are fortunate enough to be able to buy retail at Sidecar here in Seattle. I believe you can also mail order them if you can’t get your hands on them locally. I decided to “class up” the affair with a quick strawberry sauce. I only had two Dillos on hand, but this makes enough batter for several more.

Vegan Deep Fried Twinkies

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup soy milk
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

2 Dillos

Oil for frying

Sauce:

4 Tbsp strawberry jam
1 Tbsp agave nectar

To make the Twinkies

Freeze the Dillos for at least 4 hours. Heat oil in a deep fryer or dutch oven to 375°f. While the oil is heating mix the ingredients for the batter. Dip each Dillo in batter to thoroughly coat. Fry until golden brown, about 3 min. The Twinkies will float, so either use a metal spoon to hold it under the oil, or flip it half way through cooking. Remove and drain on paper towels.

To make the sauce

Combine jam and agave in a small bowl and heat in microwave about 30 seconds on high until pourable.