Vegan Chicken

Step 1

Place the tofu, cannellini beans (and their water), 3 tbsp of the vegetable oil, sea salt, miso paste and rice vinegar into the largest cup or jug attachment of a high speed blender. Blend on high speed for a minimum of 1 minute. Remove the cup, shake it well or use a spatula to make sure no chunks are stuck to the side then blend again for another 30 seconds until very smooth and creamy.

Step 2

Add the vital wheat gluten and the garlic powder to the mixture and blend until the mixture is smooth and very stretchy. Add the remaining 3 tbsp vegetable oil and blend again for at least 30 seconds. At this stage, the seitan dough should be very stringy – almost like the texture of tough chewing gum (don't worry – this is correct – it won't be like this once cooked!).

Step 3

Divide the seitan chicken dough into 8 pieces, roughly 150g each. Working with one at a time, pinch the edges of the piece of seitan and tuck it over and into the centre, making one smooth side and one folded, tucked side. Roughly shape the dough into a fillet. Repeat with the remaining pieces.

Step 4

Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper on a clean surface and place the fillet on top. Fold the sides of the greaseproof paper over and wrap tightly. Alternatively you can use muslin/cheesecloth to wrap the seitan and bind it tightly with string.

Step 5

IMPORTANT: it's essential that each fillet is wrapped as tightly as possible otherwise the seitan will expand and become spongy rather than firm and meaty.

Step 6

Place the tightly wrapped seitan chicken "breasts" into a steamer. A bamboo or an electric steamer will work fine. Steam for at least 1 hour. After an hour, give the fillets a little prod. They should be firm and bouncy rather than soft and doughy.

Step 7

Once steamed, remove the seitan chicken from the steamer and without unwrapping, leave to cool for at least 20 minutes. While the chicken cools, prepare the marinade.

Step 8

Put the crushed garlic, miso paste, dry white wine and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk together until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.

Step 9

Once your vegan chicken is cooled, unwrap it and use your hands to pull apart each piece into two (don't slice with a knife as the torn, meaty texture helps the chicken to soak up flavour).

Step 10

Place the vegan chicken into a large tupperware container with a lid or a large deep baking tin. Pour over the miso/wine mixture and use your hands to rub the marinade into the vegan chicken.

Step 11

Add the just boiled water to a large measuring jug and add the remaining brine ingredients. Pour over the chicken pieces while the brine is still hot and use a fork to make sure all the chicken is covered in liquid. Cover with reusable wrap or a lid and allow the brine to cool to room temperature on the counter. Once cooled, place in the fridge and leave to marinate for a minimum of 8 hours, ideally 12 if you can.

Step 12

Once the chicken has marinated for a minimum of 8 hours, it is ready to use.

Step 13

For shredded chicken, use a fork to pull apart the marinated vegan chicken into fine shreds. For chunks either pull the vegan chicken apart by hand for a rough texture or slice into pieces with a knife.