Glazy chick burger (vegan chicken-style burger with Chinese glaze)
The ultimate vegan burger! A crispy chicken-style seitan fillet is dipped in a sticky, sweet Chinese-style glaze and topped with cucumber, chillies and sesame seeds – all served in a vegan brioche bun.
This recipe is based on the Glazy Chick Burger served at Huns in Leicester. It has been adapted to make it easier to cook in a domestic kitchen and offers substitutes for any elements they wish to keep secret (such as the seitan fillets).
Ingredients
- 2 seitan burgers (chicken-style, but not breaded)
- vegetable oil, for shallow frying
For the Chinese-style glaze
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- ½ tbsp ketchup
- ½ tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
For the batter
- 75²µ/2â…”o³ú plain flour
- 150ml/5fl oz sparkling water
- sea salt
For the crispy coating
- 75²µ/2â…”o³ú plain flour
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp garlic salt
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp mustard powder
- ¼ tsp celery salt
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- pinch white pepper
To serve
- 2 vegan brioche-style burger buns, split and toasted
- 2 Little Gem lettuce leaves, or shredded iceberg lettuce
- ¼ cucumber, sliced
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- pinch dried chilli flakes
Method
First, make the glaze. Place all the ingredients in a small pan set over a medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, or until the volume of liquid has reduced and you have a sticky sauce that thickly coats the back of a spoon (be careful not to overcook – you don’t want it to reduce too much or caramelise). Turn off the heat and keep warm.
To make the batter, place the flour in a medium bowl, season well with salt, then gradually whisk in the sparkling water until smooth and combined.
To make the coating, place the flour and all the spices in a bowl and mix to combine. Transfer to a tray or a large plate, ready for coating. If you want to deep fry the burgers, preheat a deep-fat fryer to 180C (or you can shallow fry them, but the results won't be as good).
Dip the burgers into the batter, making sure they have a generous coating, then dip into the spiced coating to evenly coat all over.
Deep fry the burgers for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Alternatively, add enough vegetable oil to a non-stick frying pan to completely cover the base and place over a medium heat. Once hot, add the burgers and shallow fry for 4–5 minutes on each side until golden brown and crisp. Carefully remove using tongs and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen roll.
Dip the cooked burgers into the still-warm Chinese glaze.
To serve, layer the bottom of the buns with the lettuce, cucumber and spring onions. Place the glazed burgers on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chilli flakes. Top with the brioche lid and serve.
