Faux meat experiments

The other day I decided to experiment with a couple of faux meaty things.

I made “white seitan” from the book Viva Vegan (recipe can be found here; I made 1/4 of the recipe). I first steamed it for 30 minutes, then let it cool for a few minutes and tried it. It was gummy and unappealing, so I wrapped it back up and let it steam for 90 minutes total. This time the texture was nice and chewy. The flavour is good as well. It can be sliced very thinly. I think I still prefer seitan made with the addition of tofu though, as in this experiment.

I also had a package of bean curd skin in the freezer, and had wanted for ages to try making “ham” from it.

I started by cutting the bean curd skin into julienne strips, then poured boiling water over to soften. Drained it well, then added soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and sugar. Wrapped it tightly in a piece of muslin and steamed over simmering water for 90 minutes.

It worked pretty well. Both Mr Thrifty and I really liked the texture, but the flavour was nothing like ham. It has to be sliced quick thickly or it breaks up. The problem is going to be trying to get the flavours into the ham before steaming it.  Using too much liquid seasoning means it just leaks out when being steamed. Next time I am going to try making my own bean curd skin from homemade soya milk, as I’m concerned that the bought bean curd skin may be made from genetically modified soya beans.

Further faux meat experiments to come!