Spicy Garlic Wings

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You will need 5 hours to cook the seitan on low in the oven and a few hours to cool it before using. Or, you can use a well-pressed tofu.

Ingredients:

Use either tofu or seitan.

For the tofu, if using:

1 pound extra-firm tofu, pressed well, using tofu Xpress if possible

For the seitan, if using:

1 cup vital wheat gluten

¼ cup chickpea flour

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons vegetable broth, very good quality like Imagine brand

2 Tablespoons canola oil

2 cups vegetable broth for cooking the seitan

For the sauce:

1 cup Frank’s cayenne pepper sauce

¼ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoons vegenaise

2 teaspoons water

2 teaspoons cornstarch

flour or cornstarch for coating the seitan or tofu

oil for frying

3-6 cloves, fresh garlic, minced (optional)

If using tofu:

Slice the tofu into ¾ inch X ¾ inch rectangles. They will be like long sticks or fingers.

If using seitan:

Mix the dry ingredients, gluten flour, chickpea flour and nutritional yeast, in a medium bowl. Mix the vegetable broth and the oil in a measuring cup and pour into the bowl with the flours. Mix together well. Either put the whole thing in a bread machine and let it knead for 20 minutes, put the mixture in a mixer and have the dough hook mix it on medium for 10 minute, or knead it by hand for about 15 minutes or until the whole dough is smooth and shiny, like a regular bread dough.

In any of the cases, after kneading allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Once rested, the dough should be easier to shape. Pour the 2 cups of vegetable broth into a 9X13 pan. Stretch the dough out as long as it will go, up to 12 inches. You are aiming for a long but narrow dough, looking like a scarf. Allow it to rest again for another 10 minutes. Stretch it some more so it will stay at about 12 inches. Cut pieces off, about 2 by 3 inches in dimension. Put each piece in the pan with the broth. Overlapping them is okay as long as each piece is coated with the broth. Once all the pieces are cut, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Place the pan in the oven and set the temperature to 230 F. Bake for 4 hours. Turn the oven off and allow it so sit in the oven for another hour. Allow the seitan to cool completely before continuing.

For the sauce:

In a medium sauce pan blend with a whisk Frank’s hot sauce, oil, sugar, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl mix with a whisk the vegenaise, water and the cornstarch. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and blend with the whisk again. Bring the sauce to a slow boil to thicken it and turn off the heat. Reserve the sauce.

To fry the seitan or tofu:

Pour enough oil into a large pot or pan to come up to a depth of about an inch. Bring the temperature of the oil to 375 F.

Pat the pieces of tofu or seitan with paper towels to remove excess moisture. In a medium bowl, toss the pieces with about ¼ cup of flour or cornstarch to coat them.

Shake off each piece of seitan or tofu of excess flour and deep-fry until they are golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Do not crowd the pan or the temperature of the oil will drop too much. Turn the pieces halfway through.

Remove the pieces to drain on a paper towel. Pour ¼ cup of the spicy garlic sauce into a medium bowl. If you would like more garlic flavor, add a few minced garlic cloves to the bowl as well. Toss the fried pieces with the sauce to coat well. Serve right away with celery sticks.