Meatless Alternative recommendations

https://slrpnk.net/post/1614342

For a bacon alternative, I’m a fan of tempeh. Cut thin and then fry in oil with some soy sauce and smoked paprika.

I came here to post something similar. Except, instead of paprika I would use nutritional yeast.

I would slice the tempeh thin, and fry with a small amount of oil. Then when they’re nice and crispy, I would splash them with tamari. And while the tamari and oil are sizzling together, I would toss them repeatedly with the nutritional yeast. You gotta be quick with that part tho.

The end result is this crispy umami awesomeness that goes great with a bunch of dishes. Tacos/burritos, on top of a stir fry, pasta dishes, or even just served on their own next to whatever other side dishes you’d like.

There are vegan brands of worcestershire sauce, such as Annie’s
Here in NZ the cheap Pam’s brand has an accidentally vegan Worcestershire sauce (that’s like half the price of the fishy imported stuff)!
I should read labels next time I’m in the store. I bet there are other brands too. I just thought of Annie’s because my food co-op carries it.
Honestly I’ve found that my meat-eating friends and family members find a well-made seitan superior to the majority of commercial vegan meats! As an example, the best vegan burgers I’ve ever made used washed-flour seitan simmered in a simple dark/mushroom soy sauce, onion, garlic, pepper, and bay broth for a couple hours before being barbequeued.

I haven’t tried a huge amount of plant based meat alternatives (I tried making a burger with Impossible meat and really disliked it), but I recently discovered Butler Soy Curls, and so far have been extremely impressed with them. They’re different from TVP since they’re minimally processed, and use the entire soy bean so they’re a complete protein (TVP is not).

I tried them as directed on the packaging (rehydrate in warm water) and was unimpressed, as they had quite a grain-like cereal taste that was unpleasant.

However, if rehydrated in a concentrated flavorful broth (like double the dose of bullion cubes for a given amount of water) of whatever meat you’re trying to imitate, and then the excess liquid squeezed out in a strainer with a spoon, they can then be used as normal in any recipe that calls for meat, and taste fantastic! I made some stuffed peppers with them and had a meat loving friend of mine try it. They couldn’t really discern that it wasn’t meat, and it had virtually no weird taste. The texture is extremely meat like as well.

Also, I don’t know if they always do this, but when I ordered from them directly, they included a package of their soy jerky and taco crumble for free, which was pretty swank.

So yeah, highly recommend soy curls!

Butler Foods | Soy Curls

Daring chicken is amazing. They sell a breaded, but the original flavor unbreaded is kind of shocking in the right use. It’s best when sautéed (it browns well), but too much of it in stir-fry or sandwich feels a bit rubbery. It’s so tasty that you might be tempted to use it for something like orange chicken, but again, rubbery.

Also, if you’re interested in making your own alternatives, I love a kneaded seitan. You’ll need a really good stand mixer or a huge amount of stamina, but it’s worth it. Frontier’s no-chicken broth powder is one of my go-to seasonings for everything, but it particularly shines for seitan. https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Broth-Powder-No-Chicken-1lb/dp/B0001M0YT4/ref=asc_df_B0001M0YT4/

Amazon.com

Thank you! I forgot Daring chicken (we got it recently and really liked it, I’ll add it to the list if that’s okay with you!) and I’m loving all these home made recipes, I’ll definitely try this one too!
Lots of great suggestions in this thread already but I just wanted to add that Gardein “Ultimate” chick’n tenders and filets are super tasty and easy. They are thicker and the breading is crunchier than the normal Gardein tenders.
That’s good to know! I haven’t tried their chicken yet
The Stella McCartney duck shreds (made of setien, soya and seasonings) are my favourite fake meat, they’re delicious, don’t need cooking (defrost first tho obv) and you get a good sized bag for a couple of £, which is cheaper than most other fake meat products where I live.

Eggs: I didn’t like the product called “Just Egg” at first, made from mung bean, but it grew on me and now I miss it. Try it!

Cheese: haven’t found anything tasty. I think that’s a long ways off.

I love the other vegan alternatives especially soy burgers and the chiqn products (they’ve come a long way over the years)! That said, I prefer naturally vegetarian or vegan food that isn’t trying to mimic something. Cheaper, healthier, and tastier.