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Meatless Cuisine And Meat Substitutes

Vegetarian cuisine is trendy, meat substitutes are booming. But does the reference to the substitute bench do justice to the individual foods? We cook with tofu, soy, tempeh and seitan.

Tofu: a bland meat substitute? Such a cheese!

Tofu comes from Asia and means nothing more than bean cheese or quark. In fact, making tofu is not dissimilar to making cheese, except that milk made from soybeans is used. While we know tofu generally as a solid block and as a healthy meat substitute, it plays a more diverse role in Asia.

Here it is also used as pudding-like silken tofu for desserts or sold as a snack at snack bars as “smelly tofu” fermented in brine.

Homemade tofu

If you like to experiment in the kitchen, you can make your own tofu in just a few simple steps. Everything you need: soy milk, sea salt, and water.

Pour 2 liters of soy milk into a saucepan and slowly heat to a maximum of 75°C. Dissolve 25 grams of sea salt in four tablespoons of water and add to the soy milk. Simmer over low heat while stirring. As soon as the milk thickens, turn off the stove, put the lid on the pot, and let it stand covered for five minutes. Line a colander with a tea towel. Put the soy mass in the cloth and wrap it up. Cover with a suitable plate and weigh it down for a quarter of an hour. Take the finished, firm tofu out of the cloth and, if necessary, soak it in water to remove the bitter substances.

Season, smoke, or marinate tofu

Tofu is often criticized as a bland meat substitute that hardly has any taste of its own. With the right choice of spices, however, very flavorful dishes with Mediterranean, Asian, or even sweet characteristics can be created with tofu.

There is no special tofu seasoning, but tofu goes particularly well with soy sauce, which can be used in various preparation methods such as marinating, searing, or grilling. In combination with ginger, garlic, coriander or marjoram, very tasty dishes are created.

Smoked tofu is a good alternative to natural tofu, as it has its own flavor due to the smoke aroma even without additional spices. Smoked tofu can be bought ready-made.

Alternatively, you can smoke the tofu on your own on the kitchen stove with the help of a wok with a grid and smoke dust. To do this, line the wok and the grid with aluminum foil, sprinkle in the smoke dust (2cm high), and place the tofu on the grid with perforated aluminum foil. Close with a lid and smoke over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

As with real meat, marinating adds flavor. It is important to drain the tofu before processing and to dry it with kitchen paper. Then mix the marinade ingredients and place the tofu in it for at least 30 minutes.

The classic among tofu marinades is soy sauce, which can be enriched with spices such as lime or ginger. Important: keep the tofu in the refrigerator to maintain the desired freshness. Then fry on both sides.

Soy meat

Soy meat, known as textured soy in food technology terms, consists of defatted soy flour, which receives its meat-like, fibrous structure through special further processing. It is largely tasteless, high in protein, and low in fat.

A big advantage of soy meat: It has a very long shelf life when dry and is as versatile as its real brother. Whether as a steak, as a substitute for minced meat, or sliced ​​in a fricassee – in principle, any meat dish can be cooked with meat made from soy.

How is soy meat made?

Actually, soy meat, including textured soy, is a by-product of soybean oil extraction. The remaining soy flour is heated, pressed, and shaped in a so-called extruder. The production is similar to that of cornflakes, in which cornmeal is “popped up”.

Like a schnitzel…

Soy meat can be shaped in any shape. There are also large pieces of soy meat that can be used like medallions or steaks. These should be soaked in the well-seasoned, simmering broth, then dried, and then pan-fried. Breaded schnitzel or steaks for the grill can also be conjured up in this way.

Like gyros…

Once soaked, soy shreds can be further processed in a variety of ways. As gyros, as sliced meat, as a “meat insert” for the salad, or in a “fake” chicken salad – everything is possible. You can even cook a hearty goulash without any meat at all.

Like hack…

Soy granules may sound bulky, but the opposite is true. It’s as easy to use as minced meat and the good thing about it: is it’s always fresh! Meat-free burgers? A hearty chili sin carne? Or vegetarian spaghetti Bolognese? No problem!

Seitan – Made from the glue of the flour

Unlike most substitutes, seitan is not based on soy, but on grain flour. In principle, seitan is nothing more than a dough made from pure gluten and is therefore unfortunately not suitable for vegetarians with gluten intolerance. What seitan has in common with most meat substitutes is its origin: it comes from Asia.

Chinese Buddhists originally invented the meat substitute and called it mian-jin. However, the modern seitan is a Japanese invention from the 1960s. Seitan has more protein than beef, is very high in protein, and contains hardly any fat and no cholesterol. Particularly interesting for vegetarians: Seitan contains a lot of iron!

Make seitan yourself

You can easily make seitan yourself from flour. All you need is water, a strainer, and a little patience. One kilo of flour then yields about 250 grams of seitan.

For the raw dough, there are around 750 milliliters of water per kilo of flour (preferably wheat). The neatly kneaded dough should be soaked in a colander in a bowl of warm water for at least two hours, completely covered.

The water should now first be renewed and the dough firmly kneaded in the sieve. Here, the starch escapes from the dough, which makes the water cloudy. Repeat the process with alternately warm and cold water until the water is no longer cloudy. Leave the seitan dough in the strainer in cold water for an hour.

Remove the ball of dough from the water, place in a kitchen towel, and drain well under firm pressure. The finished seitan can now be shaped as you like.

Gluten powder is also available for those who are impatient or particularly hungry. It is simply mixed with water and forms a firm seitan dough after just a few minutes.

Boil the seitan dough in a seasoned broth over high heat for 30 minutes and then put it in a sieve to drain. Drain the finished seitan under slight pressure. The finished seitan pieces can now be eaten directly or processed further, for example on the grill or in a pan.

The right seasoning

Like most meat substitute products, seitan itself has hardly any taste of its own. However, because of its consistency, seitan can absorb any flavor without any problems. This makes it versatile: for Asian dishes, Mediterranean cuisine, or home cooking. Don’t be too squeamish about seasoning and just experiment a little. Seitan can be marinated like real meat, simmered in a heavily flavored broth, or of course flavored yourself.

From Asian to the Mediterranean

Garlic, ginger, soy sauce, coriander, saffron, curry paste – everything that Asia has to offer in terms of seasonings can be used. First, try making a heavily flavored base stock of garlic, ginger, and soy sauce with salt and pepper. Those who like to experiment can also add peanut butter or Thai fish sauce to the stock.

The Mediterranean kitchen thrives on fresh herbs: basil, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. But you can also add garlic or some tomato paste to the brew to cook the seitan. If you like it a little spicier, you can also add finely chopped chilies.

If you want to conjure up a hearty schnitzel or a substitute burger from seitan, you should first prepare a strong vegetable broth and add fresh onions and local herbs, such as parsley or chives. Bay leaves, juniper berries, or whole peppercorns also give seitan a tart taste.

Soybeans + cep = tempeh

Tempeh comes from Indonesia and can look back on a 2,000-year tradition there. Its appearance is vaguely reminiscent of Turkish honey, which is due to the fact that the processed soybeans are still completely intact.

With tempeh, the beans are not processed into flour, but “fermented” with the help of harmless fungal cultures. This process creates a solid fungal layer in the spaces between the soybeans, which is not dissimilar to that of camembert, for example. Tempeh is extremely low in fat and rich in protein and important vitamins.

Cooking with tempeh

While tempeh has a nutty flavor of its own, like any other meat substitute, it can be seasoned or marinated to taste. Read here how to prepare tempeh properly:

Just like meat, tempeh can be fried in a pan with a little oil. Peanut or sesame oil can be used for the Asian taste. If you like, you can also bread tempeh. Cut tempeh into slices or pieces, dust with flour, and dip in egg. Vegans can use a mixture of soy flour and water instead of egg. Then roll in breadcrumbs and fry.

It doesn’t matter whether pure, seasoned, or marinated when baking. Cut the tempeh into small slices and preheat the oven to 180°C (convection). Bake the tempeh slices for about 20 minutes.

Widespread as a snack in Asia: fried tempeh. If you don’t have a deep fryer at home, you can simply heat oil in a pan. Cut the tempeh into strips, fry for about 3 minutes until golden brown, and then drain on kitchen paper. Fried tempeh is great as an accompaniment to salads or as a topping for vegetarian sandwiches.

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Written by Mia Lane

I am a professional chef, food writer, recipe developer, diligent editor, and content producer. I work with national brands, individuals, and small businesses to create and improve written collateral. From developing niche recipes for gluten-free and vegan banana cookies, to photographing extravagant homemade sandwiches, to crafting a top-ranking how-to guide on substituting eggs in baked goods, I work in all things food.

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