I've been trying out Textured Vegetable Protein in these "burrito bowls" I do (literally just rice + beans + protein and some seasoning/sauce) and I don't think it's for me. Sawdusty vibes tbh.
Out of the three other meat alternatives I put in the title what would you recommend? I'm leaning towards tofu because it's somewhat familiar but the whole "pressing" situation seems annoying
Honestly? Tofu is nice as a staple, and it really doesn't need to be pressed IMO. But for burrito bowls, I almost always just use beans and rice, and maybe mushrooms.
Tempeh is nice from time to time, and seitan is better if you miss meat dearly, but honestly tofu is nice and cheap (though it's best in curries and mapo tofu or soon dubu style recipes, yum)
Crispy fried smoked tofu is a great ramen topping, too. I just cut it into sticks that i can easily flip in the pan so it gets nice and crispy from all sides. Usually don't bother with pressing it, either.
in that case it'd just be beans and rice (i'm not a mushroom head sadly) which feels a little sad. maybe if i switch from refried beans to whole beans like black or pinto it'd feel less gruel-like
I add raw onions, seeds, hot sauce, avocado if I have some, some vegan sour cream, it really all comes together. Whole beans are nice, but so are refried! I dunno, maybe I'm weird
oh i'm saucing it up for sure with some habanero stuff i've been into. might try to keep some queso or something similar around to add in as well
That works! I use some homemade fermented fresno sauce these days
Also, don't be afraid to add tahini, actually really good if you thin it out a bit with garlic, lemon, and water
Definitely make beans from scratch if you can. I prefer black beans over pinto but both are good. Lentils are easiest with zero presoak time and 25 minute cook time