• roux [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    2 months ago

    The chicken sandwich I got was good as hell too. Like it tasted like a fried chicken sandwich. You could have served it to them blind and they'd not have known. The girls that run the truck always get a kick out of people like that though.

    I served my chili to my parents when they came down and my dad ate it and didn't think about the fact that it was vegan until after they went back to their hotel room. He couldn't tell and my mom even said it was the best chili she's ever had. Of course, there are some iffy recipes out there. Some TVP tastes like you are eating squishy Styrofoam (I'm still learning lol) but there are a lot of legitimately good vegan food out there.

    I am grabbing all of theses recipes and will work through them. Thanks a ton. They all look great. Also omg I've been meaning to make goulash but keep forgetting so thanks for reminding me! I'm gonna look for a Laksa recipe too because a curry soup sounds right up my alley. I fucking love curry.

    • NaevaTheRat [she/her]@vegantheoryclub.orgM
      ·
      2 months ago

      Some of tips for laksa:

      • kelp stock or ground kelp helps the savoury aspect without prawns/shrimp in the paste. judicious application of msg can also be a boon here.

      • Fresh galengal is key!

      • adjust amount of coconut milk in the stock to your taste, you can make thinner or richer broths. Don't be bound by the recipe.

      • I personally find mung bean noodles nicer than rice noodles. More bite.

      • roux [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        2 months ago

        I just went to our Asian market yesterday and now I think I need to go back lol. I think they might have galengal but not sure about mung bean noodles. The kelp sounds just good all around. In the beforetimes,

        CW meat:

        I was a big fan of seafood and fish

        and have been meaning to try working with kelp a bit after buying some tsuyu to try to get that flavor profile. Tsuyu basically a soy/teriyaki soup base with kelp and shiitake and I think a bit of crack cocaine. It's expensive though, working with kelp directly would be cheaper I think.

        I think the laksa might wait for a few months but I for sure wanna make it. I need to rotate in my potato soup since my partner devours it. And I have quite a few new soups to try. Today is gonna be the Ash Reshteh and next week I think I'm gonna try a South American style black bean.

        • NaevaTheRat [she/her]@vegantheoryclub.orgM
          ·
          2 months ago

          I also loved the taste of seafood, I mean I still do I assume but well you know.

          I recently discovered a company that makes mock prawns out of a jiggly starch. Somehow they taste of those weird "seafood sticks" so I've been meaning to investigate precisely what they're flavoured with and incorporate it into cooking.

          Some people become disgusted with the flavours of meat, and I understand how the violent revulsion felt when realising what it really costs could bleed over. I, however, am not so lucky. Fortunately it seems food science is moving pretty quickly and we are learning how to use certain salts and synthetic amino acids to flavour kinder food.

          For now though kelp (konbu specifically), mushroom, and msg is my closest home made flavour analogue. I wouldn't say it tastes of sea creatures exactly but can be a similar element in a meal.

          • roux [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            2 months ago

            Not gonna lie, I'm interested in a vegan imitation crab lol. Gardein makes a "fish filet" that tastes a little bit like the real thing but I think it's mostly the shape and the fry batter they use. I'm also in the same camp as you I think, I didn't go vegan over the revulsion at first. It got dialed in officially after working in ag. I am considering moving more into whole food territory though and using less meat subs, only partially due to cost. When I first went vegan, I had a goal to try and make dishes that stand on their own where you wouldn't miss whatever traditional meat component goes in. That goal kind of got put on the back burner after losing my job and getting hit with an extra helping of depression lol.