Imagine you want to eat fried chicken, and you have all the ingredients to make it. But before you start the process of making it, you realize you’ve forgotten the eggs. Well, eggs are mainly to coat the chicken so that it retains its moisture, and also help in sticking flour or breading to the surface of the chicken. But now that you are running out of it, then many items can work as an alternative. Here are some other options that might help you up.
Tomato paste
Tomato paste must be your first choice as a replacement for the eggs. The paste is thick and sticks well to the surface of the fresh chicken. All you need is to spread the paste with a brush and roll your chicken into the flour mixture or breading. Tomato paste also acts as a moisture barrier that prevents the chicken from losing its moisture. The chicken might taste slightly like tomato, but if you are serving it hot with barbeque sauce, it won’t be apparent.
Water and flour
This mixture could be a substitute for eggs. It is a homemade coating prepared with a mixture of equal parts of water and flour into a thick paste. You can brush this layer onto the chicken or roll it as you do with egg coating. Since this paste doesn’t have any flavor, you won’t experience any change in taste. However, there is a slight possibility that the chicken might get dry due to a lack of fat layer.
Milk
Milk has proper fat content, consistency, and moisture that can help breading or flour stick properly to the chicken. Regular milk is a good option, but if you have buttermilk, it will add more texture and moisture to it. You can also go for almond, soy, or rice milk that have the right consistency for your flour or breading to stick. Please make sure you avoid flavored milk as they can alter the flavor of your fried chicken.
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is a thicker and creamier layer that contains a fat equivalent to eggs. You can apply mayonnaise by brushing a thin coating onto the chicken and roll it over the flour. You can make mayonnaise a little less thick by adding a little cream or milk to it. The flavor of the mayonnaise won’t be apparent after your chicken in fired.
Applesauce
Applesauce is the best egg replacement for baking. However, it also works for making fried chicken. It adds a little apple flavor to the recipe. You can use a plain or unsweetened applesauce to roll chicken in it. Just take note, not to use applesauce with sugar as the sugar will burn into hot oil and will leave behind an over-browned fried chicken with a burnt taste.
All these alternatives of eggs could be useful, but you can still try them even if you have eggs, to add different tastes and flavors to it.
