In Montréal, we have this chain of salad restaurants called Mandy’s. They make enormous, delicious salads with lots of different vegetarian protein options. My wife Mia absolutely loves their mock chicken; she gets the same salad every time and always raves about how good it is. We tried to find out where they got it from, and the trail went cold when we realized that they got it from a regional restaurant supplier. So, combined with how expensive it has become to buy fake meat, I decided to try and create my own mock chicken recipe to bring home some of the pleasures of eating out.

Now, my mom has been making seitan/fake meat for much longer than I have. She was the one who introduced me to it, so it was only natural to solicit her help. She scoured the web and came across a bunch of different mock chicken recipes, and we used them as a starting point. The most revolutionary aspect of this recipe, in terms of my previous seitan recipes, is the fact that we knead the dough using a food processor with a dough attachment. This activates the vital wheat gluten and gives it a much chewier texture, and permits us to shred it like chicken.

Overall, this recipe is a bit more involved than other fake meat recipes, but I think the results are well worth it. The mock chicken is delicious in salads, sandwiches, tacos, and anything else you would want a chewy protein in. The mock chicken is steamed and then shredded. It can be eaten as is, but I would highly recommend sautéing it in some oil, salt, and any spices that will match the meal you’re making. This added bit of fat, salt, and seasoning makes it an unbelievable addition to any meal. I hope this flavor and protein-packed mock chicken makes it to your kitchen soon!

Note: This recipe also requires a food processor with a plastic dough attachment. If you don’t have this, you can most likely use a dough hook on high in a stand mixer or do it by hand. If using the stand mixer, I would suggest breaking it into 4 pieces potentially after kneading the dough.

Active time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 80 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 block silken tofu (300g)
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp celery seed powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/4 tsp MSG
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 vegan chicken bouillon cube (substitute with 1 tsp poultry seasoning and ¼ tsp salt if necessary)
• 2.5 cups (300g) vital wheat gluten

Directions

1. Set up a food processor with the normal blade attachment (if you have a smaller food processor, this step should be done in a blender) and add in the tofu, water, neutral oil, mustard powder, celery seed powder, onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, liquid smoke, MSG, salt, and vegan chicken bouillon. Process for about a minute until smooth. You may need to open it up and use a rubber spatula to scrape the tofu down the sides.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add in the vital wheat gluten. Then form a hole in the middle and pour in the liquid ingredients. Combine until a wet dough is formed.
3. Switch the food processor blade to a plastic dough blade. Divide the dough into 4 even chunks, and one at a time, process them for 2 minutes. For the first of the 4 loaves, I like to spoon a little more (1-2 tsp) vital wheat gluten into the food processor since some of the liquid from before will still be stuck on the sides.
4. While the seitan is kneading, bring a small amount of water to a boil in a large Dutch oven. We will be steaming the seitan.
5. Once a loaf of seitan has finished, it should look like a knotted ball of dough (see end of recipe for reference). Get some tinfoil out and wrap it tightly like a Jolly Rancher. Repeat for all 4 loaves.
6. Once all loaves are kneaded and wrapped, place a steaming basket into your pot of water and place the 4 loaves in. Cover and steam for 40 minutes before flipping and steaming for another 40 minutes.
7. Once complete, let cool completely on a wire rack. Then, with clean hands, proceed to shred the chicken by pulling it apart. Enjoy in any and every way you see fit!

How the mock chicken should look after kneading: