"Chicken" Fried "Steak"

The other night I was planning on using up the last slices of my favorite mock meat- Field Roast brand, Celebration Roast variety. I was going to serve it with homemade vegan gravy, dill carrots, and fresh green beans with lemon dressing. I then thought to myself "self, remember how terrible you were at frying those beet latkes? Let's give frying another try". Thus I found myself making "chicken" fried "steak" two nights ago. And oh good gadzooks, it was fabulous. Considering the fact that I have never chicken fried anything, and I've only fried anything once before- those beet latkes- I was well aware that I could have been ruining dinner, and wasting Field Roast. So I was extra thankful when it turned out.

 You can use Ener-G egg replacer and mix it with almond milk, and if you'd like extra crunch roll it in some crackers/bread crumbs instead of/in addition to  flour. I found the wheat flour I used worked just fine. I seasoned the wet and dry mixture with ground sage/salt/pepper and cayenne. Dipping wet/dry/wet/dry really helps make things extra crispy.

I fried these in coconut oil, not deep fried, just enough to coat the bottom of a pan. After I took out the cutlets I sprinkled flour in the oil, dumped in some milk, and added seasonings to taste- this is just like how my mom makes gravy, but since she's using the drippings from actual meat there is already quite a bit of seasoning and depth of flavor, so you'll have to adjust for that and add more spices. The carrots were just steamed and sprinkled with dill, the green beans were steamed and the whole pot was drizzled with maybe half a teaspoon of lemon goddess dressing. Just enough to coat and impart some flavor, pepper to taste.

I'm going to try marinating portabella mushrooms in a steak marinade, and then frying them like chicken fried steak in the future. But in the far, far distant future, because we usually don't eat fried foods at all, so it will be a while. I'm biased but I think the Field Roast Celebration Roast is probably your best bet for this approach- either that or making your own "wheat meat". My local Whole Foods sells them for $7, but I slice it into ten pieces and it feeds Bobby and I both for 2 meals and one leftover lunch. Fake meats- even all natural ones like Field Roast- are still treats for us because whole, protein rich foods like lentils, beans, and nuts are still cheaper in bulk and we like that they're less processed. When we buy things like Celebration Roast it's more like they are a side dish complement to the vegetables, not vice versa. This gives us some variety but keeps costs down.

Good luck experimenting with vegan chicken fried steak!