Vegan Mozzarella Sticks

By jeenikeen

Ingredients

• Cashew Mozzarella:
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours or overnight
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 tsp tapioca starch
• 1 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
• 1/4 tsp agar powder (add 1/4 tsp more for a more set cheese)
• 1/3 – 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (to preference for saltyness of the cheese)
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp vegan butter (or evoo)
• a generous pinch of kala namak (black salt)
• a generous pinch of onion powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper flakes (optional, I like a bit of spice kick in my mozzy)
• Breading:
• 1/4 cup flour
• Breading Wet:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 Tbsp flaxmeal
• 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, salt, smoked paprika
• Breading Dry:
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp each of salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper
• 1/2 tsp italian herb blend (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary)

Details

Adapted from veganricha.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the Mozzarella:
Blend everything under mozzarella into a smooth puree. Taste and adjust salt and tang if needed. Pour into a pan and cook at medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning, for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is really thick and starts to leave the pan (or is at a soft lightly sticky dough stage).
Grease a small bread pan (I used 5.75 by 3 inch pan) or other pan with extra virgin olive oil and drop the mozzarella in it. Even it out using a spatula. Cool completely, cover the pan and Let set in the refrigerator for an hour or more.

Set up the Breading station when ready to fry or Bake:
Keep flour in one plate.
Mix everything under Breading Wet in a bowl.
Mix everything under Breading Dry in another deep plate or bowl.

Remove the cheese from the pan and Slice the Mozzarella into about 1/4 inch thin slices (I got 12 slices. The cheese will not be a shred-able hard cheese. It should just be set enough to slice). Keep the slices small since the breading is going to increase the size by 2 or 3 times. Roll each slice in flour. Then dip it in the wet mixture, then dip in the breadcrumbs to coat well. Place on parchment lined sheet. Bread all the slices and freeze for 10 minutes.

Fry:
Heat enough oil in a fryer or deep pan on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the sticks 2 or 3 at a time to fry. The oil should be hot enough that it takes only a minute to brown one side of the sticks. Flip and cook for another half or 1 minute depending on the heat and quantity of oil. Remove and serve immediately. Wait for a minute before adding the next batch so the oil can come back to a high temperature.

Bake:
If baking, then freeze the breaded mozzarella for 15 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Remove moxy sticks from freezer, spray oil or brush oil on the sticks. Bake for 4 minutes. Move the sheet to the top level of the oven and Broil for 1 minute or until the breading starts to brown. Remove and serve immediately with marinara, ranch or other favorite sauces.

Makes 11-12 3-in. long sticks.

Notes: Longer cooking time at not high enough temperature takes the cheese from set to melted to clumpy soft stage. For the cheese to be melty, it has to heated at a high temperature for a short time. Be generous with the breading and the cheese will stay nicely tucked inside.
To make it gluten-free, use glutenfree flours like oat + rice flours in place of regular flour and gf bread crumbs.
If the cheese ends up too soft, Plop it in the freezer for a few to help harden it a bit for slicing.