For a long time, Australia has had some pretty paltry options when it comes to faux poultry. Yes, we have processed products made from soy, tofu and lentils, mock mince, substitute sausages and plant-based patties, but no real alternatives to chicken breast – until now.

As of this week, New Zealand company Sunfed will launch their cult product Chicken Free Chicken in select Australian supermarkets, with the best-selling product expected to fly off shelves.

Getting the right taste wasn’t a problem for Sunfed, rather, it was the texture that presented the greatest difficulty.

“We challenged ourselves to a high bar of not making a patty, but a whole piece of fleshy meat with long succulent fibres that would be a good replacement to boneless skinless chicken breast pieces. We also wanted it to be just as versatile, so it had to work easily with existing chicken recipes,” says Sunfed’s chief executive and founder, Shama Lee.

The new product is made almost exclusively from yellow peas and water, with small amounts of pumpkin, rice bran oil, yeast extract and maize starch, which rounds off the ingredients list.

“It is primarily made from water and yellow pea protein, and the reason we did that is because we want to keep it super clean. It has the cleanest, most minimalist ingredient deck on the global market,” Lee said.

The new product also touts double the protein of chicken and triple the iron of beef. It is non-allergenic, with no gluten or soy, as well as cholesterol free, trans fat free and a source of dietary fibre.

“It doesn’t just taste like chicken, it offers all the nutritional benefits of chicken, and more.”

Chicken Free Chicken also has the added bonus of not having the risks associated with animal chicken meat and is free from antibiotics, hormones and animal bugs such as campylobacter and salmonella.

Chicken Free Chicken can be eaten any way you would eat a regular piece of chicken breast, either added to your usual stir-fry, curry or casserole or simply pan-fried in oil.

The product will retail for $11 for 300g, and will be available from select supermarkets nationwide as of June 21.