Vegan Chicken à la King

By Tiffani of Veggiesattiffanis.com

Greetings all, my name is Tiffani. I’m a vegan chef, blogger, and recipe developer. The lovely, Becca Lotus, asked me to write a veganized recipe for a classic, mid-century dish to share with you here on her blog.

Chicken à la King was one of the most popular dishes of the 60’s. It was also a dish my husband had been wanting to try a vegan version of, so I thought it would be the perfect selection for this post. Oh! This dish is also easy to veganize. I call that a triple win!

Traditionally, Chicken à la King has chicken pieces in a creamy sauce with veggies and is served over rice, pasta, or sometimes bread. In place of the chicken, I use young jackfruit, which is a healthy, whole-food choice for substituting shredded meat. For the milk, I simply use almond, but you can use whichever non-dairy milk you prefer, so long as it is unflavored and unsweetened.

If you’re not familiar with vegan cooking or foods, you may not have heard of jackfruit. This fruit comes from parts of Asia and when ripe, it has a sweet, tropical flavor, close to a mango. Do you remember Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Gum? I was taught that jackfruit was the fruit the gum was flavored after. This may or may not be true, as I’ve since read that some simply say they taste similar.

When jackfruit is young, or green, it has a very mild flavor and a shredded meat-like texture. It isn’t sweet at all and works great as a meat replacement. I love using it to veganize! I think jackfruit and mushrooms are my two most favorite meat substitutes.

Traditionally, Chicken à la King already has mushrooms, this is why I went with jackfruit for the “meat.”

If you don’t know what you’re looking for, jackfruit can be hard to find, but let me help you out with that. Young (green) jackfruit is sold canned and is either packed in water or brine. Water is preferred! I usually find it in Asian markets, but they do carry green jackfruit in brine at Trader Joe’s and in many health-food markets. Do not buy ripe jackfruit, packed in syrup.

Full disclosure, I wasn’t alive in the 60’s when this dish was at its peak. I probably had it in the 80’s, but honestly can’t remember for sure. My husband and I both truly enjoyed this veganized version of this dish, and I think, I hope, it will also satisfy your craving.

If you’d like to find more of my recipes, please check out my site, Veggies at Tiffani’s. You can find other veganized classic dishes, as well as my unique new creations. You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter. I send many thanks to the beautiful Becca for allowing me to have a spot here on her blog. Happy cooking!

Vegan Chicken à la King

A delicious, vegan version of a classic, mid-century supper.

Course: Main

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Author: Tiffani Wells

Ingredients

● 1 17 oz can young/green jackfruit in water or *brine

● ½ Tbsp vegan poultry seasoning

● ¼ cup vegan butter

● 1 ½ cups + 2 Tbsp “chicken” flavored vegetable broth

● 1 cup yellow onion, diced small

● 4 oz white mushrooms, sliced thin

● 1 clove garlic, minced

● ½ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

● ½ cup frozen peas

● 4 oz jar diced pimentos, drained

● ¼ cup *all purpose flour, sifted

● ¾ cup unflavored/unsweetened non-dairy milk

● ground black pepper, to taste

● 4 servings cooked pasta, cooked rice, or bread

Instructions

1. Drain the can of jackfruit, rinse it well, and squeeze dry each piece. Check for seeds and discard.

2. Slice off the hard triangular end of each piece of jackfruit (the part which doesn’t look “shredded”). Using a sharp knife, slice the triangular ends into thin pieces.

3. Add all of the jackfruit to a mixing bowl and sprinkle with the poultry seasoning. Using your hands, toss to coat.

4. Heat two tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the jackfruit and sauté for two minutes.

5. Pour in two tablespoons of the broth and continue to sauté until the bottom of the skillet is completely dry.

6. Add in the remaining butter, along with the onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and stir constantly until the butter is melted. Add in a half of a cup of broth, then turn down the heat and cover. Keep at a gentle simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

7. Remove the lid from the skillet, turn the heat back up to medium, and sauté until all the liquid is absorbed.

8. To the skillet, add in the remaining broth, along with the peas and pimentos.

9. Add the sifted flour to the milk and whisk until smooth. Next, whisk the milk mixture into your skillet.

10. Cook until the peas have heated through and the sauce has thickened. Add pepper to taste. Serve over pasta, rice, or bread.

Notes

*If using jackfruit canned in brine, make sure to spend extra time rinsing your jackfruit. If the jackfruit is quite firm, increase your simmer time to 20 minutes.

*For gluten-free, replace the flour with cornstarch.