Vegan Beer Batter

Aquafaba

Posted by Grub Street Publishing

About

The main ingredient of this traditional coating may come as a surprise: beer! However, it’s this very ingredient that makes this light batter hold together so well. Here once more, we can use the flexible properties of aquafaba to replace the egg whites.

Serves 4 - preparation time: 20 minutes - cooking time: 15 minutes

Comments:
For this recipe, we have used textured soya, but it is also possible to use other ingredients to experiment with textures and flavours. It would work well, for example, with a slice of seitan, herbed tofu or even blanched cauliflower.

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You Will Need (9 things)

  • 3 Slices textured Soya protein (big steak)
  • 1 l Vegetable Stock
  • 3 Bay Leaves
  • 2 Sprigs Thyme
  • 150 g Soft Wheat Flour
  • 2 g (1⁄3 tsp) fine Salt
  • 2 g (1 tsp) Turmeric
  • 50 ml Aquafaba
  • 200 ml Beer (pale ale or lager)

Steps (3 steps, 20 minutes)

  1. 1

    Cook the textured soya slices in a saucepan for 10 minutes with 1 litre vegetable stock, bay leaves and thyme. Once they are cooked, drain and press well to extract as much liquid as possible.

  2. 2

    Leave to cool. In the meantime, place the flour, fine salt, turmeric, aquafaba and beer in a mixing bowl. Mix well using a whisk to obtain a smooth batter with no lumps. Let stand for 30 minutes.

  3. 3

    Heat a deep fryer filled with vegetable oil to 180 °C. Cut the textured soya protein lengthways, at a slight angle. Dip each piece, one by one, into the batter, allowing the excess to drain off and place in the deep fryer. Deep-fry for 2 minutes and drain on a paper towel. Serve with some chips and a sauce of your choice.