• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Rhian's Recipes

  • About
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
  • Meal Plan
  • Cookbook
  • Blogging Tips
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
  • Healthy Meal Plan
  • Cookbook
  • Blogging Tips
    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Recipes » Recipes

    Vegan Fried Chicken (Gluten-Free)

    Last updated - July 15, 2021; Published - April 4, 2017 By Rhian Williams 2 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This Vegan Fried Chicken is a healthier, Japanese-inspired twist on fried chicken and makes the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner!

    Vegan Fried Chicken (Gluten-Free)

    Japanese fried chicken is slightly different from its Western counterpart in that it's marinated with soy sauce, ginger and garlic, then coated with potato flour before being fried.

    This means it's naturally dairy- and gluten-free (as long as you substitute tamari for soy sauce), and the potato flour makes it SUPER crispy!

    I became very tempted to use tofu to make a slightly healthier, Vegan Fried Chicken recipe. The biggest attraction of this recipe is how easy it is to make - all you need to do is cut some tofu into cubes, plunge into a 4-ingredient marinade, then coat with cornflour.

    You can use potato flour but I think cornflour is generally more accessible and you're much more likely to already have it in on hand.

    Then just heat up some oil in a frying pan and quickly fry until crispy! Pan-frying the karaage not only makes this dish much healthier than its traditional, deep-fried counterpart, but its also much easier.

    It's quicker as you don't have to wait around for ages for a lake of oil to heat up, and the whole process is generally much less stressful. I don't know about you, but I honestly find the thought of deep-frying anything a little scary - I'd probably set my house on fire!

    I was pretty impressed with how this Vegan Fried Chicken turned out - it's perfectly soft, almost juicy on the inside, packed full of flavour thanks to the marinade, and amazingly crispy on the outside. I'd happily eat it instead of chicken!

    Vegan Fried Chicken (Gluten-Free)

    I highly recommend serving this alongside some rice and fresh salad, with a couple of lemon wedges to add juicy bursts of fresh, citrusy flavour.

    Side dishes that would go really well with this Vegan Fried Chicken include:

    • Potato Salad
    • Broccoli and Edamame with Sesame Dressing

    For more delicious tofu recipes, check out my:

    • Tofu Pad Thai
    • Tofu Satay Curry
    • Scrambled Teriyaki Tofu Onigirazu
    • Japanese-Style Mapo Tofu
    • Twice-Cooked Tofu
    • Tofu Satay Skewers
    • Peanut Tofu Stir Fry

    If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

    Helpful tools to make this Vegan Fried Chicken:

    glass mixing bowl

    Vegan Fried Chicken (Gluten-Free)

    Vegan Fried Chicken (Gluten-Free)

    This Vegan Fried Chicken is a healthier, Japanese-inspired twist on fried chicken and makes the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Japanese
    Keyword: vegan fried chicken, vegan tofu chicken
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 131kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    For the karaage:

    • 400 g (14oz) firm tofu
    • 1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
    • 1 cm (½ inch) ginger, peeled and grated
    • 2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
    • 2 tablespoons mirin (or sub 1 tablespoon any other sweetener)
    • Salt + pepper, to taste
    • 4 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch) (or sub potato flour)
    • Oil, for shallow-frying (vegetable or rapeseed oil)

    To serve:

    • Lemon wedges
    • Fresh salad
    • Cooked brown or white rice

    Instructions

    • Drain the tofu, pat dry with a paper towel then cut into small cubes
    • Mix the tamari, mirin and salt + pepper in a large bowl
    • Add the tofu and mix well, making sure to coat every cube
    • Leave to marinate either overnight, for a few hours or for a few minutes if pressed for time
    • Just before frying, heat up a generous amount of oil in a frying pan until hot
    • Meanwhile, add cornflour to the bowl of marinated tofu, and mix well (easiest to use your hands for this!)
    • Add more cornflour if necessary, and ensure you coat every cube of tofu
    • Once the oil is hot, keep it on a medium heat and add tofu
    • Fry for a few minutes on each side, turning over half way through (it's easiest to do this using chopsticks)
    • Once crispy and golden brown, transfer tofu onto a plate lined with kitchen paper (to drain away the excess oil)
    • Best enjoyed immediately, served with lemon wedges, fresh salad and Japanese rice

    Notes

    Side dishes that would go really well with this Tofu Karaage include:
    • Potato Salad
    • Broccoli and Edamame with Sesame Dressing 
    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Fried Chicken (Gluten-Free)
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 131
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

    « Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Truffle Cake
    Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles »
    • Share
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anonymous

      April 30, 2018 at 10:47 pm

      5 stars
      Good idea to use garlic and ginger thank you!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        April 30, 2018 at 10:48 pm

        Thank you!

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

    Learn more.

    Popular Recipes

    Three vegan blueberry muffins with a bite taken out of one with a bowl of fresh blueberries in the background

    Vegan Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)

    A loaf of gluten-free vegan bread with three slices next to it

    Gluten-Free Vegan Bread

    A stack of oat flour pancakes topped with desiccated coconut and syrup on a blue plate

    Oat Flour Pancakes (Vegan + GF)

    A loaf of gluten-free rice bread topped with mixed seeds with two slices next to it against a sheet of brown baking paper

    Gluten-Free Rice Bread (Vegan)

    A loaf of gluten-free vegan oat bread topped with oats with two slices on the side

    Gluten-Free Vegan Oat Bread

    Five vegan coconut flour pancakes stacked in a pile decorated with fresh raspberries and coconut flakes on a green plate against a grey background

    Vegan Coconut Flour Pancakes (Gluten-Free)

    A loaf of oat flour bread with two slices

    Oat Flour Bread (Vegan + Gluten-Free)

    A stack of gluten-free vegan protein pancakes covered in chocolate sauce with a fork sticking into it

    Gluten-Free Vegan Protein Pancakes

    Footer

    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Privacy Policy & Disclosure
    • Copyright Notice

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe for free updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work With Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework ·