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Mock Chicken

This mock chicken recipe has been handed down for 4 generations and is a firm family favourite
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or scroll for handy tips and a little nostalgia.

mock chicken

This old fashioned Mock Chicken recipe is a firm family favourite.

All of my aunts and cousins will think of just one person when this recipe is mentioned: our Nan MacDonald, Nana Ling‘s daughter.

mock chicken

Nan Mac, as we all called her, would turn up at our family gatherings with both arms weighed down by her cooking.

You could be sure that amongst the goodies, you’d find these two things: a dish of Mock Chicken and a perfectly baked and decorated sponge cake.

Libby with nan and pop mac
A very young me with my Nan and Pop Mac

The Mock Chicken disappeared fast. Most of us didn’t know what went into, we just knew it tasted great piled on top of a Jatz cracker.

It seems I may have found the source of this much-loved recipe in Nana Ling’s recipe book. A recipe for “Mock Fowl”.

What is Mock Chicken?

Mock chicken doesn’t contain any chicken, but the recipe does include an egg!

It can be used the same way as chicken, and enjoyed with some veges, as a sandwich filling or atop a cracker.

It was popular at a time when chicken and other meats may have been a luxury.

Nana Ling’s recipe is dated December 1941, a time when Australia had just declared war on Japan and learnt that 645 crewmen had been lost with the sinking of the HMAS Sydney following a battle with a German raider off the Western Australian coast.

It’s not surprising that I’ve stumbled across quite a few “mock” recipes in her notebook. Rationing of food and clothes happened in Australia from 1942.

Are we falling in love with this depression-era dish again?

Although it may have been a meat substitute during poorer times, it definitely isn’t a poor substitute, taste-wise.

Of course, these days mock meat is popular for entirely different reasons, too. 

Vegetarianism has been on the rise in Australia and the western world in recent years, with many people switching for weight loss and health-related reasons.

Perhaps Mock Chicken is ripe for a comeback? I can almost see Nana Ling and Nan Mac smiling at that thought!

Making Mock Chicken

To make Mock Chicken, you’ll need:

  • small onion
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 dessert spoon butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon mixed herbs.

My Aunty Judy also now adds a tablespoon of grated cheese to the mix.

This recipe calls for a peeled tomato.

Peeling tomatoes is a little different compared with peeling your standard fruit and vegetables.

While it may seem a little fiddly, it’s an interesting process and delivers a lovely, clean result. Much nicer than the mushy mess you’d be left with if you attempted this process with a peeler.

peeled tomatoes for mock chicken

First, prepare a saucepan of boiling water and a bowl of cold water.

Wash tomatoes and remove the stem.

Cut a shallow X in the bottom of the tomato using a small, sharp knife.

Place the tomato into the boiling water and after about 20 seconds the skin around the X should start to split further.

Immediately remove from boiling water and place into the bowl of cold water.

You should be able to remove the thin outer skin of the tomato quickly and easily with your hands.

Once cooled, chop the tomato and set aside.

Add the finely chopped onion to a frying pan and cook until clear.

Add butter and tomato to pan and cook well.

Beat egg and add to mixture along with herbs and cheese (if you’re adding cheese).

Cook and stir in salt and pepper to taste.

Blend a little with a stick blender or chopper if desired to achieve a finer texture or serve as is.

Serve cool.

Nana Ling’s original handwritten Mock Chicken recipe

Keep scrolling to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the tested and tweaked version.

mock chicken recipe handwritten
mock chicken

Mock Chicken

This mock chicken recipe has been handed down for 4 generations and is a firm family favourite
4.88 from 41 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Australian, British, English, Welsh
Keyword: mock chicken
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 120kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 dessert spoon butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
  • 1 tablespoon grated cheese (optional)

Instructions

  • Peel tomato and chop. Set aside.
  • Add finely chopped onion to a frying pan and cook until clear.
  • Add butter and tomato to pan and cook well.
  • Beat egg and add to mixture along with herbs. Cook and stir in salt and pepper to taste.
  • Blend a little with a stick blender or chopper if desired to achieve a finer texture or serve as is.
  • Serve cool.

Video

Notes

Aunty Judy’s recipe tips:
  • Let the mixture cool slightly for about 5 mins, then use a stick blender for a few seconds to create a smoother-textured Mock Chicken
  • You can also add a tablespoon of grated cheese to the ingredients (Nan Mac did this – maybe their generation had times a little better to add the cheese to recipe).
You can serve Mock Chicken as a meal with a side salad, as suggested in Nana Ling’s recipe book, enjoy it with crackers, use it as a sandwich filling and more. Get creative! I’d love to hear other ways you serve Mock Chicken in the comments below.

Nutrition

Calories: 120kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 165mg | Sodium: 78mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1260IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Recipe Rating




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Belinda

Sunday 3rd of April 2022

Thank you so much for sharing this. I was a teenager in the 80โ€™s and discovered this in one of my grandmotherโ€™s recipe books. It was a C.W.A. (Country Womenโ€™s Association)) recipe book probably published in the late seventies or early eighties in Tamworth, N.S.W, Australia). It may have mentioned, or maybe I assumed, it was an old recipe used during the war or the great depression. I had already noticed that there were things both sides of my family did that were hangovers from these times; My motherโ€™s family would take a roast lamb (shoulder or leg) out of the oven half an hour before it was cooked and sprinkle it with flour then salt and pepper and then sugar before putting it back into the oven. It would make a crispy sweet crust over the top. My fatherโ€™s family thought that spreading cream on a slice of bread was a real treat. I thought I would never see this recipe again. Thanks so much.

Libby Hakim

Monday 4th of April 2022

Hi Belinda - you're welcome! This was my Nan's specialty and one very close to my heart. Sometimes the CWA ladies cater for events around Maitland, like Steamfest, and Mock chicken sandwiches are still on the menu today!

Merlene

Friday 14th of January 2022

A childhood favourite with cheese and herbs. My mum would bake it in little individual tarts. Always delicious!

Libby Hakim

Saturday 15th of January 2022

Lovely - will have to try it in tarts. Perfect for parties! Thanks, Merlene.

Rosemary Sharpe

Wednesday 29th of September 2021

Iโ€™m probably a bit late to comment, but I grew up with this recipe, it was my Auntie Luls specialty, used for picnics, and any leftover sandies were dipped in egg and fried for breakfast the next morningโ€ฆ..very fancy French toast!!! When I make it ,I add tasty cheese and cooked bacon. Itโ€™s great spread on baguette slices, put in oven till bread crispyโ€ฆ.yum!

Libby Hakim

Wednesday 29th of September 2021

Hi Rosemary - absolutely love your ideas! The toast sounds amazing and the toasted baguette slices would be a perfect base. Thanks for sharing Libby x (PS Nana Ling's mother was a Sharpe)

Karen-lea Hughes

Sunday 8th of August 2021

Thanks for the reminder of this yummy dip. My Mum is wed to make it when I was young. I think the trick was pouring boiling water over the whole tomato (as my Mum did). Then skin the tomato.

Tomato goes all mushy. And much easier to cook. I will be making this soon. Family favourite that I had forgotten about.

Libby

Sunday 8th of August 2021

You're welcome! Yes, peeling the tomato is a must for this recipe. Enjoy the memories and the yummy flavours :)

Rhonda

Wednesday 3rd of February 2021

I remember my mum making mock chicken when I was very young, donโ€™t know how many years before that she made it as Iโ€™m the youngest of 8 children and in my 60โ€™s. Mum only used it as a sandwich spread and always with cheese as I do as well, except I also use it warmed as a side dish for bbq chops or chicken. Iโ€™ve given this recipe to many people.

Libby

Wednesday 3rd of February 2021

Hi Rhonda. Thanks for sharing your lovely memories. It would be nice served warm as a side dish - I must try this! Libby x

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