Vegan copycatting- KFC mashed potato bowls
I did NOT come up with this idea on my own- I saw it on Instagram a couple years ago when I was still on there, and I do not remember who posted it for me to give proper credit. But basically- here is an idea for a perfect comfort meal for a chilly evening when you just don’t want to put in a lot of time and effort to make something, yettt are sort of in the mood for a fast food splurge. It’s funny- I get to a point every single year when the weather starts to turn colder, shortly after the clocks change and it gets dark early, where all I want to do for a solid three months is pour gravy over as many of my meals as possible. Typing that out makes it seem super gross. But honestly, when it’s dark, and I’m cold, and my seasonal affective disorder is just sort of leering at me from around the corner (and me leering back at it), gravy just feels like a good antidote.
I probably don’t need to spell this out, but here it is-
Homemade mashed potatoes. Cut up some yellow potatoes, throw in a pot, add water to a few inches above the potatoes. Throw in a pinch of salt if you’re feeling in a salty mood. Set on the stovetop on high until boiling, and boil until the potatoes can be pierced with a knife. Turn off the burner. Drain the potatoes and add back to the warm pot along with some oat milk and a bit of butter (if you’re feeling in a buttery mood), maybe another pinch of salt, and some black pepper (if you’re in a peppery mood). When I’m ready for a KFC bowl, I am in all these moods (salty, buttery, peppery). Mash them up to your liking.
Vegan chicken nuggets or chicken strips- no particular brand, they are all pretty decent in my opinion! Bake or air fry per the box instructions, and then when they come out, cut them into smaller pieces.
Corn (from frozen, not canned, because canned corn is gross).
Funny story- growing up, my grandma always served us corn from frozen, and it tasted amazing. My dad, however, only ever served us canned corn, which was not amazing. I didn’t know why our corn at home tasted yucky, but the corn at my grandma’s was amazing, and I couldn’t very well say to my dad, “I don’t like your corn,” because feedback like this was welcomed in my house growing up. I kid you not, I was like 32 years old when I realized that grandma’s corn was just FROZEN CORN. It was a delightful moment for me. Back to our KFC bowl recipe- throw your frozen corn into a pot on the stovetop. Basic stuff.
GRAVY. The star. There are probably several gravy recipes that you can use; I follow the recipe from the “Oh She Glows Every Day” cookbook by Angela Liddon- it’s basically sauteed yellow onion with garlic, veg broth mixed in with flour, and then nutritional yeast and soy sauce all mixed in and then blended. I found her recipe here online. I add a lot of black pepper to this as well :)
OPTIONAL- The real KFC bowls also have shredded cheese, because why not, I guess? We don’t add any to ours, but I’m just throwing that option out there- have some vegan (or real, if that’s your jam) shredded cheese handy if you want to create a more authentic bowl. Saying ‘authentic’ in reference to KFC seems weird to me, but what isn’t weird, these days?
I know you can figure out the next step- add it all together and SNUGGLE UP with your loved ones. NOT TODAY, SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER.
This doesn’t even look appetizing. Just trust.
