The Black Vegan Cooking Show Presents: Chicken And Waffles

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Charlise Rookwood, host of MADAMENOIRE’s Black Vegan Cooking Show is joined by broadcast journalist Jamila Mustafa to throw down in the kitchen. Today, one of the most beloved foods in America—chicken and waffles—is on the menu. Different versions of this sweet and savory dish have popped up around the U.S. since the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until 1938 when Wells Supper Club in Harlem, New York made its signature dish with fried chicken that this became a true staple of soul food cuisine. Vegans deserve to enjoy this scrumptious meal and Rookwood has them covered.

Rookwood has a few tricks up her sleeve to ensure this recipe has authentic flavor while still boasting 100 percent vegan ingredients. In place of regular milk, she uses plant-based milk and adds a touch of apple cider vinegar to make it taste like buttermilk (Tip: Rookwood notes you can use any plant-based milk of your choosing). In place of eggs for the batter, she uses a vegan egg-like product made from mung beans. —And of course, for the chicken, she’s swapped in a plant-based faux chicken. You can pick up your favorite at your local health food store – popular options are made from Quorn, soy protein and pea protein.

Rookwood shows us how plant-based takes on traditional meat recipes can be just as good – if not tastier – than the original dish. Mustafa is representing non-vegans on this episode, and she puts the culinary creation to the ultimate test: Does it taste like real chicken?

The verdict: abso-finger-licking-lutely.

Though chicken and waffles aren’t typically made with plant-based ingredients, Rookwood did make sure to include a dash of tradition in her recipe as the coating for the chicken was her grandmother’s recipe. She also adds a side of fresh fruit to brighten up the dish.