Oct 18, 2011

TVP experiment tomorrow

I've used TVP a couple of times, but it has been the pre-hydrated, flavored stuff in the tube. (I like puns,  but for pity's sake "Gimme Lean" sausage is a little much.) I picked up some dry TVP the other day and I'm curious to see if it is easier to work with.

The pre-moistened stuff is extremely sticky and has a somewhat slimy feel. I find that I have to add breadcrumbs to get the consistency to one that I like. It also sticks to my hands in a disconcerting way. I can't be sure, but I suspect that the local supermarket may not be storing it properly.

So tomorrow I'm going to make some chili from a recipe that I have that uses bulghur as a meat substitute and use TVP re-hydrated with vegetarian bouillon in place of the wheat.

That last phrase, meat substitute, would really bother me if I were a vegan rather than an herbivore. I am so bound up by meanings that the term meat substitute would make me think that I was using a spiritual loophole since, if I am going to avoid meat, I should avoid anything that even seems like meat. But therein lies madness, so I'm glad that my parameters are determined by physical rather than spiritual health.

2 comments:

  1. If you ever want to try making seitan, though, a friend of mine did and documented in photos:
    http://www.mynxzilla.com/2010/05/wheat-meat.html

    None of my family like it, so I haven't tried it....

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  2. That seitan recipe seems easy, and I can think of a number of flavoring alternatives to steak sauce such as Guilin Chili Sauce or Hoisin Sauce. I could even see using dry spices to compose one's own particular variant.

    Thanks! It's on my list to try.

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