Prepare the enoki mushrooms:

1. Cut the dirty ends off of the mushrooms and discard. Rinse the mushrooms under cold water to remove any excess dirt.
2. Place the mushrooms onto a cutting board and use one hand to hold them together. Shred the mushrooms with a fork using your other hand. Continue shredding the mushrooms until all have been separated into fine hair-like strands.
3. Add the mushrooms to a small frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 – 2 tbsp. of water and cook for 3 – 5 minutes or until softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. The mushrooms will look slimy and stick together. Set the cooked mushrooms aside.

Form the seitan:

1. Add the tofu, water, and salt to a food processor and blend until smooth. Scrape the inside of the food processor with a spatula and continue blending to make sure everything is well incorporated.
2. Add the vital wheat gluten and pulse a few times until just mixed.
3. Add the cooked enoki mushrooms and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute to fully incorporate. Give your food processor a break every 10 seconds to avoid overheating or breaking it.
4. Remove the mixture from the food processor and quickly roll/knead to form a semi-rectangular shape.
5. Cut the seitan dough into 8 equal pieces and press into 8 individual patties. They will grow in size during the cooking process so make them as big or small as you’d like.

Cook the patties and prepare dredge:

1. Add the veggie broth to a large pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, carefully add all seitan patties to the broth, cover the pot with a lid, and reduce the heat to low. Cook the patties for 15 minutes. When the patties have finished boiling, remove them from the broth and place on a plate, wire rack, or sheet pan to cool.
2. While the patties are cooking, add the flour and spice mixture in a bowl, whisk to combine, and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, add the non-dairy milk and lemon juice/vinegar to a bowl and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for at least 5 minutes to thicken slightly.
4. Optional Step: If you would like more texture to the breading on the patties, add 1 – 2 tbsp. of the vegan buttermilk mixture to the flour and spice mixture and stir. The flour and spice blend will have some clumps of breading; which will add more texture.

Batter and fry the patties:

1. One at a time, place a patty in the flour blend and flip to evenly coat. Place the coated patty in the vegan buttermilk mixture and flip to evenly coat. Place the patty back in the flour blend and flip to evenly coat. Repeat until all patties have been fully coated.
2. For oven-baked patties: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the patties onto a baking sheet pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Spray both sides of the patties with spray oil if desired (oil is not required for this recipe, you can cook the patties without it). Cook for approximately 15 minutes, flipping the patties halfway through.
3. For air fried patties: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Spray both sides of the patties with spray oil if desired (oil is not required for this recipe, you can cook the patties without it). Cook for 10 minutes, flipping the patties halfway through.

Build the sandwiches:

1. Add a vegan chicken patty to a bun along with whichever toppings you prefer and enjoy! For this recipe, I really like adding mayonnaise, pickle slices, lettuce, and sometimes hot sauce.

Refrigerating, freezing, and reheating:

1. If you don’t plan on using all of the vegan chicken patties at once, place them in an airtight container or resealable bag and place in the fridge or freezer. These patties will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
2. To reheat the patties, preheat the oven or air fryer to the same temperature settings as stated above. Cook the patties on a baking sheet pan that has been lined with parchment paper for 5 – 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Cook the patties in the air fryer for approximately 5 minutes, flipping halfway through.