Posts filed under 'fake meat'
I saw lotus root at Whole Foods and couldn’t resist experimenting with it. I also picked up some LightLife Steak Style Strips. One of them was a mistake.
Vegancore had positively reviewed the “chicken” version of these strips, so I thought I might give them a shot. The store only had the “steak-style” ones, but I bought them anyway, thinking they might be alright. Even if they hadn’t been exceedingly salty (and I do love my salt), the flavor was off-putting. Not in a “these taste way too much like meat” sort of way; they just weren’t very good. Both Stewart and I ended up picking them out altogether. I don’t often buy fake meat products, and this experience reminded me why. Seitan, tofu, or nothing at all would have been much better.
The lotus root was neat, though. It came pre-prepped in a bag filled with water. Had it not been prepped, I think I would have had to remove the skin and soak it in lemon water to keep it from oxidizing. It was really easy to use this way, I just drained the liquid, sliced it up, and tossed it in the wok.
The flavor and texture was very close to water chestnuts - crisp with a slight tang. I thought it was good in the sauce I made, but Stewart didn’t care for it. He doesn’t like water chestnuts either, so I wasn’t surprised.
Lotus Root Stir Fry
Serves two
1 6″ Lotus Root, peeled, chopped into 1/4″ thick discs, then each disc quartered
1 Large Carrot, chopped into thin coins
1/2 Cup Peas, frozen
1 Cup + Chopped Seitan (optional)
1 Recipe of Basic Stir Fry Sauce (below)
Oil
Heat a wok or large pot to near smoking. Add oil, and when heated, add carrots. Cook for 2 minutes, until beginning to color. Add lotus root, and cook until carrot is just tender. Add peas, sauce, and seitan if using, heating cooking until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and serve over rice or noodles.
Basic Stir Fry Sauce
Covers enough veggies for two people
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Tamari
2 Tbs Seasoned Rice Vinegar
2 tsp Mirin
2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
4 tsp Cornstartch
Whisk together and add to any stir fry after you are pretty much done cooking it. Stir well until it begins to thicken. Turn off heat and serve over rice or noodles.
This sauce is great on its own, but it also stands up to cusomization. Add orange zest/juice, fresh ginger, chilies, maple syrup, garlic - whatever floats your boat.
February 16th, 2007
This started with a teeny, tiny, adorable glass bottle filled with saffron threads. I had never cooked with saffron before, but was always curious about it. The bottle was only $4, cheap enough for an impulse purchase. Into my basket it went.
I decided to make risotto again, specifically Risotto alla milanese, or saffron risotto. After the risotto I made a few days ago, I was dying to try a baked version. When you bake risotto, you don’t need to slave over it, stirring until your arms fall off. You pop it in the oven after a few minutes of preparation, let it bake for 25 minutes, and presto. It sounded too good to be true. I had to try it.
While reseraching saffron risotto, I found that osso buco (also ossobucco) is its traditional accompaniment. I realized I had some tempeh in the fridge and decided to have a go at “notso buco.” Considering the fact that I didn’t have this idea until the risotto was almost halfway done cooking, I think it was a success. Next time I make it, I think I’ll either use thinner slices of tempeh, or marinate them first, so that the inside tastes just as good as the outside. The sauce was rich enough, though, so it really wasn’t a problem.
I was really skeptical about the baked risotto. It called for only half of the liquid I used previously, and two thirds less time. I was expecting to check it at 25 minutes and find it bone dry and undercooked. Boy was I wrong! It was perfectly cooked, fluffy, moist, golden, and fragrant. The texture wasn’t as creamy as the stove-top version, but delightful in its own way, more like a pilaf. I definitely recommend this version, especially if you’re short on time.
Recipes below the jump!
Rosemary Saffron Risotto (inspired by a Martha Stewart Recipe)
Serves four
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, minced
1 Cup Arborio Rice
1/8 tsp Saffron Threads, crushed
1/2 Cup White Wine (dry)
2 Cups Vegetable Stock (or use 1 veg. bullion cube and omit salt)
1 Tbs Fresh Rosemary, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish
1 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
1 Tbs Earth Balance, cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 450°.
In a medium oven-proof saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring until golden brown. Add rice, and stir until grains are shiny and well coated with oil, about 2 minutes more. Add saffron and wine, and continue cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add stock, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cover saucepan; transfer to oven. Bake until all of the stock is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes.
Remove the cover from saucepan. Dot the top of the rice with earth balance, arrange sage over the rice, and bake until earth balance is melted, about 5 minutes more. Serve immediately.
Notso Buco
Serves two
1 Block of Tempeh
1 Carrot, slice into thin coins
4 Oz Cremini mushrooms, sliced thickly
1 Heaping Tbs Tomato Paste
1 Cup White Wine
1/3 Cup Water and Soy Sauce Mixture, 1:1 ratio
2 Tbs Earth Balance
Flour
Oil
Slice the tempeh in half, making two smaller squares. Trim each square into a circular shape. No cut each circle in half to make two thinner circles (this is the step I wish I did!). Rub each piece of tempeh in oil, then coat with flour.
Heat a dutch oven or deep, heavy cast-iron skillet with some olive oil. Sear both sides of the tempeh, until nicely browned. Remove from pan. Add mushrooms and carrots and saute until beginning to soften. Add tomato paste and stir well. Add tempeh back to pan.
Add wine and cook on high until reduced by half. Add soy sauce/water mixture and boil until a thick sauce forms. When sauce is ready, turn down heat and add earth balance. Stir until incorporated. Serve.
January 27th, 2007
I’ve been reading good things about the General Tao’s Tofu found on VegWeb, so I decided to give it a go. I’ve copied and pasted the recipe below and edited it to show you my changes in the ingredients section.
If you’ve never heard of General Tso’s tofu (or chicken), perhaps you’ve heard of General Tao’s? Or General Gau’s? Or General Chou’s, General Tzo’s, General To’s, General So’s, General Joe’s, and General Toso’s, General Chow’s, or simply General Chicken.
It’s ridiculous. This is one game of telephone that has gone horribly, horribly wrong.
I found the recipe to be pretty solid. If I make it again, I think I will add more cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it even more. It seemed thick in the pan, but turned to soup when I plated. Perhaps the bok choy gave off excess water when it cooked? I also completely forgot to dredge the tofu in cornstarch after the egg replacer, but it still turned out just fine. I wonder if it would have stayed crispy in the sauce if I had remembered.
Recipe after the jump.
General Tso’s Tofu
Serves four
1 box of firm tofu
egg substitute for 1 egg
3/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying
3 chopped green onions
1 Tbs tsp minced powdered ginger
1 Tbs minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock 1/2 veg bullion cube
2 3 Tbs soy sauce
4 3 Tbs sugar
red pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon sherry (optional)
1 Tablespoon white seasoned rice vinegar
steamed broccoli
My Additions:
3 Bunches Baby Bok Choy
1 Cup sliced Shitake Mushrooms
Directions:
Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn’t necessary. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer/water mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn’t clump up at the bottom of the bowl.
Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil.
Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.
Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.
January 21st, 2007
Shepherd’s Pie
Here’s what it looked like before I destroyed it:
Our second guest should be arriving shortly, so perhaps I should get off the internet. See below for more about how I made the Shepherd’s Pie.
This turned out quite lovely. I realized it’s sort of hard to tell what the filling is, so here it is, from the top down:
Piped mashed russet potatoes (3 medium)
Mashed sweet potatoes (1 medium)
Sauteed carrots
Frozen corn and peas (1 cup each)
Baby spinach (fresh)
Yve’s ground round substitute, sauteed with onions, soy sauce, and vegan worcestershire sauce
Vegan bechemel
It was baked in a 350º oven until the potatoes started to brown. Since everything inside is pretty much cooked (except the frozen vegetables that thaw almost immediately and the spinach what will wilt if you look at it funny), you really only need to heat the whole thing up and brown the top. Have a glass of wine or something while it bakes.
Each slice (can I even call them slices?) was served on top of some vegan bechamel sauce. The internet seems to be populated by a single vegan bechamel recipe that calls for cashews - it may taste lovely, but in my mind that just complicates the recipe needlessly. You need to blend the cashews up, and my non-vitamix blender would probably leave a bunch of cashew bits in the sauce. Who wants a lumpy bechamel? Now you’re straining hot sauce, making a mess, and frustrating yourself. The following recipe is what what I use; it’s much simpler and doesn’t require any blending:
Vegan Bechamel
2 Tbs vegan butter (Earth Balance)
2 Tbs flour
1 Cup soymilk
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch salt
Pepper to taste (white if you have it.. but who has it?)
Melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to form a roux. Whisk until the color of the roux darkens (it’s subtle and doesn’t take very long, so the directions could also read: whisk until you don’t want to anymore. It’ll be fine.).
Add the soymilk slowly, whisking as you go, making sure there are no lumps. Whisk until all the soymilk is incorporated, then add the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Go easy on the nutmeg, it’s stronger than you may think!
Remove from heat when the sauce is sufficiently thick - it should coat the back of a spoon. Serve.
January 7th, 2007
Baked Tempeh with Dijon Sauce and Roasted Veggies
The tempeh itself was great. The dijon sauce was way too acidic for me, even after I tried to mellow it out with earth balance and some kosher salt. Next time I think I’ll use less cider vinegar, or even omit it, and add more earth balance.
We served it with some organic baby carrots and fingerling potatoes that Stewart roasted with olive oil, salt, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and herbs de provence.
On the side, we had some of Celine’s Beer bread which turned out really well and was SO easy to make. I’ll think I’ll try it again with some different kinds of beer in the future to see how the taste varies. Thanks for the recipe, Celine!
December 30th, 2006
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