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
Here's how to make god-tier TVP Obviously you don't need to follow it all the way through to make the meatballs though.
TVP requires lots of flavouring. Did you soak it in a very concentrated broth? If not, then it's a bit like eating unseasoned tofu. You can reduce the sawdusty taste of TVP by putting it into a sieve and shaking it lightly to get rid of the defatted soy flour, that way the flavour won't be all through your dish.
I boiled water and dumped it in at a 2:1 ratio in favor of the TVP which is what I read online. I added some taco seasoning to it but that didn't help too much. I think the broth is good tech, I'll pick some up grocery shopping tomorrow.
Hmmm... it's hard to know how much seasoning that would be. If you have a liquid that you're putting with TVP, I'd put all your seasonings in that as the flavour will get absorbed through the TVP rather than just sitting on the outermost part.
As a rule of thumb, the broth or liquid should taste too strong as a broth. Like borderline unpleasant without it tasting like you're eating broth powder straight. That can apply to taco seasoning mixed into water or other spices or a combo of things.