Today for this weeks Plant based challenge I am starring bean curd skin also known as Yuba.
I am fairly new to bean curd skin so I was pretty excited to experiment with something known to be used quite a bit in plant based cuisine.
Today I will make it into what resembles chicken nuggets. This was an experiment gone right. I was amazed with the results. Although it wouldn't fool most people who eat chicken, I know for the average kid who gets chicken nuggets in a restaurant off the kids menu, it would very likely pass without question. I think it's funny that a typical kid's menu in a restaurant has the most unhealthy selection of food.
We don't eat fried foods very often but I am not opposed to eating it for fun in moderation. The soy skin I used was dry then soaked in warm water until it was softened. I have never used this kind before. I have made fake bacon which I call "facon", with a fresh sheet.
This has simple ingredients but takes a bit of playing with to get it working. Chop into small pieces. I only used a portion of this. It was quite a bit so the rest will be made into something different later. This is very soft and slippery. It needed flours to hold it together. I used mostly potato flour, semolina and tapioca flour, mixed with egg replacer.
Yuba nuggets
4 to5 cups chopped Yuba
2 egg replacers
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 cup of potato starch
1/2 cup of tapioca starch
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
pinch of sugar or other sweetener
Salt and black pepper
2 to 3 cups panko breadcrumbs or any breadcrumbs
These were the approximate amounts. First I made the egg replacer which I used to make it stick together. It was store bought. You just add water.
After mixing by hand and squeezing the egg replacer with the yuba, I added the potato, tapioca, and semolina flours.
The flours were added gradually until the mixture could be formed into desired shape which I changed at the last minute.
I continued by making a slurry from the all purpose flour and the seasonings and baking soda. Taste it to make sure it has enough seasonings and salt then adjust as required to suit your taste. I was going for an all American Kentucky style taste so I made sure it was salty enough.
After dipping the nuggets into the batter I rolled it in the breadcrumbs then reshaped them. They were put in the freezer for twenty minutes or so before frying.
I fried them a few at a time in hot oil until they were nice and brown and crispy.
I have to make sure I don't get addicted to these foods. It takes me back to my younger days when we went to pubs and ate such things while getting sloshed on beer.
I made quick sauces. One was honey mustard without honey. I simply mixed mustard with agave nectar, garlic and onion powder. The other sauce was a spicy pepper sauce made from dried arbol and guallio peppers that were boiled then blended with cider vinegar, oil, salt, garlic and a bit of sweetener. I had thought of an Asian kind of dipping sauce but changed my mind since this was going to resemble more of a typical North American thing for nostalgia's sake.
Many people on a plant based diet don't like the idea of mocking meat. I respect that. To each his own but I know this is not meat so for me it's a fun way to remember things I used to like in the past without consuming any animal products.
The flavor of yuba is so neutral that it can take on flavors of any style of cuisine. It could easily be turned into anything.
I know tofu haters that may change their mind if they have this. Providing they aren't those picky eaters. We all know them but love them all the same.
