Could it be...Vegan Chicharron???

Growing up, tsitsaron or chicharron was always a guilty, but ooh so tasty indulgence! Sometimes, my mom would bring home tsitsaron manok(chicken chicharron), but the best times would be the regular pork rinds seasoned Salt & Vinegar style -oooh!

So I was surprised to discover, that biting into the edges of my baked seitan yesterday, tasted exactly like chicharron. Well, at least, what I remembered it as...

Vegan Chicharron? Is it possible? Maybe! It sure did taste like it! So here's what happened:

Yesterday, I thought, I'm going out of town, I don't want to go to the grocery store; I need to whip up a quick, no grocery-trip meal:

Nasi Goreng and Chicken-Style Seitan

It had to be quick, I was watching Jeopardy, and I was really hungry. So for the Nasi Goreng, I sauteed some (de-frosted) frozen spinach and veggie burger (cut up, from Costco, I forgot the brand) in some olive oil, added a Nasi Goreng packet seasoning (I know, I know, cheating, but this had to be quick) and added brown rice. But I always top my instant Nasi Goreng with Kecap Manis and Bawan Goreng, the traditional way...

But the highlight surely was the seitan. I half-assed Vegan Yum Yum's recipe:

Chicken-Style Seitan
Makes four cutlets

1 1/2 Cup Vital Wheat Gluten
2 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
3/4 Cup or more Cold Water
1 Tbs Soy Sauce
3 Tbs Soymilk ( I didn't have soymilk, so I added more water and more olive oil)
1 Tbs Olive Oil

Braising Broth
2 Cups Water
1 Vegetable Bullion Cube ( I didn't have these, but used Trader Joe's vegetable stock concentrate (2))

Mix the dry ingredients together. Combine the wet ingredients and stir well. Add wet to dry and knead until a dough is formed. Add more liquid if needed. The gluten will develop very quickly. Knead a few times on your counter, forming a ball. (I knead right in the bowl, and punch it a couple times- it's really tough! And then I just rip it into pieces, animal-style, ARGH!)

Simmer in "Braising Broth," covered for 20-30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

What I did after, was once it had simmered for 25-30 minutes, I put these suckers in my toaster oven at 425 F for 15 minutes. Maybe it was the extra oil and water in the mix, maybe it was the toaster oven, but hot diggety damn - these were good.

When I come back from Dominican Republic, I'll have to see if I can recreate that chicharron taste!