Cha Kdao Sach Moan (Cambodian Spicy Vegan Chicken)

If you’re a lover of spicy food or would like to try something new and exciting, our spicy vegan chicken recipe from Cambodia is sure to impress!
It’s thought that Cambodian cuisine takes influence from both China and France, during the migration period in the 13th century – you learn something new every day, thanks for the knowledge Wikipedia!
When cooking this specific recipe, it’s firstly important that you create your chickwheat in advance – look at our how to make chickwheat post for full instructions.
You’re more than welcome to replace the chickwheat with a gluten-free option of your choice. If you find a decent replacement or you want to tell us what you think of this recipe, leave a rating and comment at the bottom of the post!
Take a look at our vegan asian recipes page for more like this!

Cha Kdao Sach Moan (Cambodian Spicy Basil Chicken)
Looking for a mind-blowing spicy vegan chicken substitute? Cha Kdao Sach Moan is a beautiful Cambodian dish and we're going to be using chickwheat to veganise this recipe.
Ingredients
Seitan
- 500 grams chickwheat
Spices & Stuff
- 1 tbsp garlic chopped
- 1 handful plain peanuts (if using salted, use less soy sauce)
- 3 dried red chilli peppers
- 1 cup fresh thai basil
Sauces
- 1.5 tbsp vegan fish sauce (see notes)
- 1 tsp soy sauce/tamari
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 150 ml water
Instructions
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Add the oil to a wok and heat well.
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Once you're happy with the heat, add your garlic, chillies, vegan fish sauce and water - mix for 15 seconds.
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Add chickwheat to the wok and cover well with your mixture - reduce the heat to low-medium for 10 minutes.
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Add peanuts, soy sauce and fresh basil and mix until the basil begins to wilt.
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Serve with Bai Krob Chanti and/or a Cambodian Cucumber Salad.
Recipe Notes
*prep time is based on your chickwheat already being made.
* see our simple vegan fish sauce recipe for a realistic substitute.
Amazing dish, seasoned perfectly and wowed my meat-eating husband 🙂
Thanks Maria, this dish will fool more than just your husband we’re sure!
I realised that I never left a review for this dish either! So tasty and the texture of the seitan was spot on but it was slightly too spicy for me which is why it doesnt get the full 5*!
2 comments in 1 day, lucky us! Maybe take out the dried chillis next time or just use the one?