Nuggets are one of those guilty pleasures that I hate to admit, I kind of missed when I initially went vegan. My taste buds adapted (surprisingly quickly) and I got over it and over the years have had a couple of good vegan nuggets. It wasn’t until I recently created these vegan okara nuggets that I really found the nugget that hit the spot!
I’ve talked about okara before in my Best vegan burger patty recipe, and it’s no secret that I love using okara in my recipes due to its texture, flavour (or lack thereof) and therefore it’s versatility. Plus, it’s a by-product of soy milk production and anything that reduces waste is a thumbs up in our home!
Do vegan Okara nuggets taste like chicken?
Don’t expect an exact like-for-like of a Maccas chicken nugget – these are their own thing – cruelty free. I find that over time you begin to enjoy and appreciate substitutions for their own qualities as opposed to constantly comparing them to their meat/dairy/egg (and usually deep fried) counterparts. That is almost always going to lead to disappointment. Fast food is addictive and gross when you actually think about it. It takes a bit of time to break the chain but once you are free from the shackles of dirty food, you will enjoy their clean counterparts so so so much more – and your body will thank you for it!
One of the biggest joys of expanding your diet to include a wide array of plant foods is that you end up creating meals and snacks from things that you didn’t even know existed or would go together. And your taste-buds get to explore an entirely new world.
So, here are my okara and brown rice no-chicken nuggets. Crispy, textured, protein-packed and super moreish. Pair them with your favourite sauce – I like to mix a little barbecue with sweet chilli sauce. Yum.
Where do I get Okara from?
I sourced my okara from Soy’oy’oy tofu maker in Hobart – visit them at Farmgate markets if you are around. Otherwise ask around at your local health food store, local tofu/soy milk makers OR if you make your own soy milk, then you will have endless amounts of okara!
Let me know in the comments below if you made this. I also love to hear your ideas and substitutions. Share your creations on Instagram with #IHTBvegan @coastingwiththe90s
Okara and brown rice nuggets
Ingredients
- ¼ C plain flour
- ¼ C arrowroot flour/powder/starch - (tapioca flour/powder/starch)
- 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried mixed herbs - eg. Italian herbs or similar
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp flaxseed meal
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp vegenaise - or other vegan mayo
- 1 tsp white rice vinegar
- 1 tsp shiro miso paste
- 3.5 C okara
- 2 C cooked brown rice
- ¼ C rice flour
- Oil for frying - 50/50 olive oil and coconut oil works really well
Instructions
- In small bowl or jug, whisk the flaxseed, water, vegenaise, rice vinegar and miso paste. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the plain flour, arrowroot flour, veg stock powder, garlic powder, mixed herbs, cumin, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients, brown rice and okara. Mix into a firm batter.
- Line a large plate or baking tray with baking paper. Place the rice flour onto a small plate or bowl. Using wet hands, form about 1 tbsp size nugget shapes. Drop each nugget into the rice flour on to lightly coat both sides and then place on the baking paper. You should get around 18-20 nuggets.
- Heat about 1 tbsp each of olive oil and coconut oil on the fry pan. On high heat, pan-fry nuggets for 6 minutes on each side. Don’t overcrowd the pan - it’s best to cook them in 2 batches.
- Let cool slightly on some paper towel and serve with your favourite sauce!
They look so good! I don’t have access to Okara currently but when I do, I will definitely give these a go.
If you make your own soy or almond milk, like I do, you can have all the free okara you would ever need, and then some, to share! I have okara comin out of my ears! Such an amazing healthy by product of nut milks! I’ll have to try this recipe; the ingredients sound so yummy!
If you make your own soy or almond milk, like I do, you can have all the free okara you would ever need, and then some, to share! I have okara comin out of my ears! Such an amazing healthy by product of nut milks! I’ll have to try this recipe; the ingredients sound so yummy!
That’s so great that you make your own milks! Thanks for your comment, hope you enjoy the okara recipes 😊
Does this recipe use wet or dry okara? I dry mine out after making soy milk for long term storage and have heard of it being sold that way (although I have never seen it on shelves either way). It’s easy enough to rehydrate if thats what I need to do 🙂
I use fresh/wet Okara so I would recommend rehydrating it. Hope it goes well for you 😊
the recipe looks amazing. do you know if i can bake these nuggets? if so, what temp? and how long?
Hi there! I haven’t tried baking these exact nuggets, but with similar recipes I would bake them at 200*C for 20 minutes turning each nugget over at 10 minutes in. If they aren’t crisping up as much as you would like, finish them off under the grill/broiler. Hope this helps!