Fake Meat

Meat! We don't eat it! 

But we do make a lot of meat substitutes! I have to apologize, I really meant to demonstrate how to make some of these substitutions for this blog, and maybe in the future I will! So for now, it's a comprehensively quick look at meat substitutions! 

Seitan 

So this is wheat gluten, seriously, it's a bread! But we don't use it like bread, it's dense and meaty in texture, and you can season it however you want, all you need is the wheat gluten! At the restaurant I work at we have seitan sausages on our pizza year round, all house made. But there's more to seitan than just vegan sausages! 

One of my absolute favorite meals from before I walked away from meat was chicken fried steak. Where I grew up; Houston, Tx; is the land of chicken fried steak, it's everywhere! And I never saw a vegan alternative, that's where seitan comes in, it makes an amazing substitute for the meat! 

Tempeh

My personal favorite for meat substitute, this is an amazing product! And it's a little gross to make, controlled fermentation binds soybeans into a cake. From there, the sky is the limit! Fake bacon? Make it tempeh bacon! Looking for a good stir fry? Tempeh works for all your needs! It's used pretty prolifically in Asia, and  is an important part of the cuisine, like many of our meat analogues.

Tofu

I really want to update this blog with an instruction guide to tofu. Tofu is such amazing stuff, as long as you don't hate soy! How can you complain about making tofu when it results in soy milk! There are different kinds of tofu dependent on what you it for. It's all about how firm it is, but it's so versatile. Tofu scrambles are awesome, not a fake meat in that form, but it's the best! Perhaps we should discuss dairy replacements?

Textured Vegetable Protein

Another soy product here, being allergic to soy is a real bummer when you're veggie, this is a soy flour concentrate that is sold as a dry good. It is high in protein and an amazing substitute for ground meat!
 

There's a great company from Seattle, Field Roast, that makes some really great meat substitutes! And you can find them at most of your local grocery stores!