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5 from 39 votes

Dragon Chicken Soycurls (Indo-Chinese Recipe)

Dragon Chicken Soycurls  - a vegan twist on Indo-Chinese restaurant classic. Soycurls are Marinated and baked then tossed in a fiery spicy sweet cashew pepper sauce. Glutenfree.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Keyword: soycurl recipe, vegan chinese chicken
Servings: 4
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces dry soycurls
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth heated to hot

For the marinade:

  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce , use tamari for Glutenfree
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or Indian red chili powder or use 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or paprika for less heat
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste or finely minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon garlic paste or finely minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the sauce:

  • 2 teaspoons oil divided
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews or use roasted
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 inch ginger, minced
  • 2 dried red chilis use Indian red or cayenne for hot , california red or Kashmiri chilies or mild
  • 1/4 cup white parts of green onion reserve the green part for garnish
  • 1/2 green bell pepper thinly sliced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce or use tamari for gluten free
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon sambal oelek or use Asian chili sauce of choice
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp cornstarch
  • green onion for garnish
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Soak your soy curls in the hot vegetable broth for 5-10 minutes. Then drain really well and squeeze out a bit of the excess water. Add to a bowl
  • Marinade: Then to the bowl, add the soy sauce, black pepper, cayenne/chili powder , ginger, and garlic paste, oil  and toss well to coat. Then sprinkle in the cornstarch and toss well to coat the soycurls.
  • Distribute the soy curls over a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (206 c) for 15-20 minutes or until crisp to preference. You can also pan-fry these in a skillet with 1-2 teaspoon oil until they're crisp on the edges. Set aside
  • Make the sauce: add 1 teaspoon oil to a skillet then add cashews if they're not roasted and roast for 3-4 minutes until golden then remove from the skillet. If they're already roasted, then skip this step.
  • Add the other teaspoon oil. Add the garlic, ginger, and dried red chilis and cook until the garlic is starting to turn golden.
  • Then add in the white parts of green onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and a good pinch of salt and mix well and cook until the peppers are starting to turn golden on some of the edges but still crunchy. 2 mins
  • Then add in soy sauce and ketchup and sambal oelek, sugar and black pepper and mix well. Mix cornstarch in water and  Add to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Then add in the crisped soy curls and toasted cashews and toss well then immediately serve over rice. Garnish with some green onion.

Video

Notes

  • For extra sauce, you can add in 1 cup of water instead of 1/3 cup and additional 1 teaspoon of cornstarch mixed in and bring to a boil. This will add additional sauce to the soy curls.
  • For nut-free, omit cashews and use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds 
  • Soycurl substitute: Use seitan or other vegan chicken subs or jackfruit(squeeze all brine out of jackfruit). Skip soaking in stock. Add to the marinade, then bake or panfry and proceed 
  • soy chunks : they are chewier and need longer soak in hot or boiling water/broth(soak according to instructions on package). After the soak, chop them smaller so that they absorb more of the marinade and then proceed 

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 720mg | Potassium: 314mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 952IU | Vitamin C: 66mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 5mg