This is kinda more of a curiosity question. Is there a meat
substitute on the market that reproduces the texture of meat? I tried
some Quorn sausages the other day, and they tasted like plastic - or
Play-Doh. The flavor was convincing, but the texture was all wrong.
Is any other meat substitute better texture-wise?

LM (thinking about Thanksgiving and turkey-like substances...)

Try TVP (Texturized Vegetable Protein). It comes in chunks - for goulash
like dishes - and in crumbs - to replace ground meat. The most important
thing is to prepare it rather spicy because it has no own taste at all. I.
e. use sufficient vegetable broth to boil it, add brown onions, garlic,
laurel leaves, chilli powder, pepper, a.s.o... Give a try to produce your
own seitan (wheat protein). You will find the procedure with Google. It is
rather time consuming but it is worth a try!

Regina
--
It is the compassion with all creatures
that only makes humans really human. (Albert Schweitzer)
A day will come on which men will look upon an animal's murder
the same way they look today upon a man's murder. (Leonardo da Vinci)

Try TVP (Texturized Vegetable Protein). It comes in chunks - for goulash
like dishes - and in crumbs - to replace ground meat. The most important
thing is to prepare it rather spicy because it has no own taste at all. I.
e. use sufficient vegetable broth to boil it, add brown onions, garlic,
laurel leaves, chilli powder, pepper, a.s.o... Give a try to produce your
own seitan (wheat protein). You will find the procedure with Google. It is
rather time consuming but it is worth a try!

Regina
--
It is the compassion with all creatures
that only makes humans really human. (Albert Schweitzer)
A day will come on which men will look upon an animal's murder
the same way they look today upon a man's murder. (Leonardo da Vinci)

Try seitan... they make it in different styles. I once served seitan, and a
guy at my dinner party gave me a blank stare and said, "I thought you were a
vegetarian!" The frozen varieties (as opposed to the water-packed
refrigerated varieties) have a different texture - may want to experiment
with both.

Try this:

- Cut seitan into strips, and sautee in its own juice and some added soy
sauce for about 5 minutes. Add some olive oil or water if it's not "juicy"
enough. You can add some onions to give it more flavor if you want.
- After sauteeing seitan for a while, add some baby corn, water chesnuts,
bamboo strips, broccoli, carrots, and peapods. Sautee until veggies are
cooked; add soy sauce to taste.
- Serve over a bed of brown basmati rice.


Also, you can freeze tofu to give it a different texture. Make sure you
keep it in the freezer for more than 24 hours, and you'll probably want to
take it out at least 3 hours before preparing it, so you can cut it. Always
use the water-packed, firm tofu (such as White Wave or Melissa's) instead of
the silken kind when using it in stir fries, caserroles, etc.

Cheers!

jessigurr