Description

For those days when you want sweet, sticky, spicy comfort food! And best of all, you won’t have to deep-fat fry them. This recipe is the perfect example that you don’t have to give up your favorite foods when switching to a plant-based diet. Veganism opens a whole new world of ingredients and spices for you to explore and enjoy – all you need is a bit of creativity, or some awesome recipes, so you can check out our plant-based weekly menu for other delicious meal ideas.

These Spicy Vegan Drumsticks are really easy to make, all you need are some frozen vegan ‘chicken’ drumsticks and lots of spices for a truly finger-licking experience. They go really well with oven-baked potato wedges, rice, and veggies, or you can go all out with some classic French fries.

Ingredients

Scale

8 frozen vegan ‘chicken’ drumsticks

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

½ tsp crushed dried chili flakes

½ tsp finely chopped ginger, or ginger juice

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp mirin, or rice wine

½–1 tbsp Sriracha, or to taste

2 tbsp granulated sugar

2–3 tbsp water

salt and pepper, to taste

1–2 green onions, scallions, or spring onions, finely sliced, for garnishing

white sesame seeds, for garnishing

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F (or 200°C).
Place the frozen vegan chicken drumsticks on a baking tray, and bake for 30 minutes.
When there are 10 minutes left, begin the sauce: heat a frying pan on medium heat, and once hot, add the sesame oil.
Add the garlic to the pan and fry for a minute or two until soft, turning down the heat if necessary, and stir occasionally.
Add the chili flakes and chopped ginger (if using) to the pan, and cook for a minute, stirring occasionally.
Whilst the garlic is cooking, mix the sauce ingredients (from soy sauce through to salt and pepper) together in a small bowl. If you’re using ginger juice, add it too.
Once the chili flakes have fried for a minute, pour the sauce into the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until it has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat.
Remove the chicken drumsticks from the oven and stir them into the sauce until they’re fully coated. Then place them back on the baking tray and return them to the oven for the last few minutes of cooking (5 minutes or so).
Once the final 5 minutes is up, place them in a serving bowl, pour over any sauce that was remaining in your frying pan, and top with sliced green onion and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Notes

Time for dessert! What about some Homemade Vegan Ice Cream?

Keywords: easy, delicious, meat alternative