Vegan Lemon Pepper Chicken
Lemon and black pepper make a really good pair when combined together. This dish is inspired by Chinese takeaway lemon chicken. However using tofu instead of chicken makes it completely plant based but still delicious.
The tofu is torn into rough chunks to improve the texture, dredged in a vegan buttermilk and coated in a lemon pepper seasoned panko breadcrumb and fried to golden, crispy perfection. This recipe features a homemade lemon pepper seasoned breadcrumb but you can also use premade lemon pepper seasoning.
The tofu chunks are then coated in a sticky, sweet and zesty lemon pepper sauce that you’ll be obsessed with.
Pair this protein packed Chinese style main dish with your favourite fried rice or noodles and stir fried vegetables and you have the most perfect fakeaway dish when you’re craving a takeaway meal.
How to make lemon pepper seasoning
For this recipe we make lemon pepper seasoning to add to the breadcrumbs. Lemon pepper seasoning is just lemon zest, black pepper and salt blended together. For a dry lemon pepper seasoning you can dehydrate the lemon zest first.
Chinese tofu lemon chicken ingredients and substitutes
- Tofu – I used extra firm tofu for the texture in this dish. You could also use tempeh or store bought vegan chicken.
- Panko breadcrumbs- Panko give a nice crispy golden exterior and stick to all of the jagged edges of the torn tofu. You can also use home made fresh breadcrumbs.
- Lemon zest- Lemon zest goes into the sauce and the breadcrumbs. If you have time you can zest the lemons a day before and leave to dry out in a bowl or dehydrate them in the oven on a low heat for a few hours. Alternatively you can buy a premade lemon pepper seasoning online.
- Cracked black peppercorns- Freshly cracked is best. You can add to a mini chopper or use a grinder. Bigger chunks of black pepper work best to get the black flecks.
- Soy milk and lemon juice- Mixing these together makes a vegan buttermilk which helps the panko breadcrumbs to stick to the tofu pieces.
- Vegetable stock- This gives the sauce a little extra flavour, you can use any stock you like or just water if you prefer.
- Sugar- Adding sugar to the sauce helps to mellow the sharpness of the lemon juice and sweeten the sauce. You can use agave or maple syrup instead.
Q&A
Q- What is lemon pepper?
A- Lemon pepper seasoning is lemon zest, cracked black peppercorns and salt. Making a salty, zesty seasoning with a little heat from the peppercorns. Its often used on chicken wings.
Q- What to serve with lemon pepper chicken
A- I love this Chinese style lemon pepper tofu with steamed rice and stir fried broccolini and pak choi.
Lemon Pepper Tofu
Ingredients
- 280 g Tofu
- 100 g Panko breadcrumbs
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- 250 ml Soy milk
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
Sauce
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 100 ml Vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp Cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- Zest of 1/2 a lemon
Instructions
- Mix the 2 tbsp lemon juice and soy milk in a bowl and set aside.
- In a separate bowl combine the panko breadcrumbs, black pepper, salt and lemon zest.
- Tear up the tofu into bitesize chunks and dip each piece into the soy milk mixture then into the panko breadcrumb bowl. Make sure the pieces are coated in the panko all the way round.
- Fry these in small batches until they are golden brown on all sides and set aside.
- Remove the remaining oil from the pan.
- Mix all of the sauce ingredients and pour into the pan. Cook on low heat until bubbling lightly.
- Add in the crumbed tofu and stir until each piece is coated in the sauce.
Notes
If you like this recipe be sure to check out some of my other Chinese inspired recipes
- Tofu and broccoli udon noodle stir fry
- Chinese style salt and pepper tofu
- Crispy chili oyster mushrooms
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