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 have the perfect recipe for exactly that sort of thing: get extra firm tofu, slice short ways across the brick into slices maybe 1cm thick (I actually just halve it, then halve the half, then halve that as well, because that gives a clear visual indicator and gets them all roughly even), lightly press those slices by hand, then stack them and cut them into thin strips. Fry these on medium high in a pan with some oil, topped with mix of salt, sugar (a small amount, maybe half a teaspoon), ginger, and garlic, with or without additional chopped aromatics like onions, fresh garlic, ginger root, etc, stirring regularly once you can see them starting to brown on the sides because it's a pain to flip these strips compared to larger cubes so just continuously poking at and flipping them is needed to get them done evenly. Once they've got a golden brown finish to both sides they're ready to mix into whatever.
If you can't get them all touching the metal in the pan, do it in two batches, because they won't get a good finish on the outside without direct contact with the pan/hot oil.