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
I use tofu as a meat substitute all the time. Extra firm unpressed crumbled in a large skillet with some peanut oil then once very lightly browned I add a taco seasoning packet. Couldn’t be easier. Can be eaten hot or cold in burritos, tacos, salads or nachos.
TVP seems to be better if it is heavily flavored imo and very moist like a bolognese.
I was into seitan for a few months but it’s a lot of work and takes a lot of tinkering to get it right. Local stores ran out of my preferred brand of vital wheat gluten so I had to get it online and the quality was different so I once again had to experiment and gave up after a couple meh results.
after these past couple tries that description of TVP seems to line up. that tofu sounds not too bad to do, and yeah definitely not looking for extra work so seitan is out
When frying it up on the skillet what you’re looking to do is dry it out a bit by cooking off the water otherwise the texture will be closer to egg. If the pan isn’t large enough then cook in smaller batches.
Like with any new dish, there’s a bit of a learning curve but the tofu tacos are now so easy that on any given day I can have a decent meal in 30ish minutes with lots of leftovers