Plant-based mince is now 29% cheaper than beef, lamb, and pork mince at Tesco, according to a price comparison conducted by nonprofit think tank GFI Europe
And here in the US it seems the prices are going up to keep pace with beef prices. I’d love to have plant based be cheeper. As it is rn I basically never eat meat. Both are too expensive
TVPs are absolutely underrated, it sure takes some learning but after that… Cheapest ever. (Never boil, always fry with spices and then add a little bit of water/veggie stock/tomato sauce…)
I love the texture TVP. But you need to mix it with other stuff, other wise it tastes blain. But with the right flavour, like stir fry flavour, it’s a great protein filling addition.
Huh, you fry the dry TVP? Do you then let it simmer in the sauce for as long as one would normally boil it?
I have some steak-like TVP here, which is going to remain dry in the core, unless you really give it its time, so not sure how well it would work with that.
I do also have (pre-)roasted TVP, though, where I assumed, they do that when extruding or something. Maybe they actually throw it into a big pan before shipping… 🤔
Not who you’re replying to, but there’s one recipe with TVP that I like which cooks kind of close to that where you cook the TVP with only a little bit of vegetable broth and all the spices + onions. https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/easy-tvp-tacos/
I add plenty of oil in the pan and some onions, then add the dry TVP, mix well, add all the spices, let fry until it looks “right” and then I add water/veggie broth or canned tomatoes, depending on what I do. This works with small or smaller texture or “mince-type” or so.
With big, steak-like pieces I do soak them in hot water for like 5 minutes before frying, but never boil.
Will have to play around with it some more, but first experiment was already pretty good. They fry a lot faster than I would’ve thought and do taste better.
Honestly, I’m most excited about this way of preparing them, though, because boiling them first, then frying them, was always annoying. Like, you’d need to really press out the water and need a really hot pan to be able to seer them. And you’d need a pot and a pan rather than just a pan. And if you didn’t wait long enough while boiling, you couldn’t really put them back into the water. And so on… 🙂
To be fair, saying you don’t like tofu is often more about how you’ve had it than tofu itself.
It’s basically a neutral base, so it takes on whatever flavors and textures you give it. If it’s under-seasoned or cooked wrong, it’s bland and kind of unpleasant. But the same is true for a lot of foods. A badly cooked egg can be rubbery or sulfur-heavy, but that doesn’t mean eggs are bad overall.
Tofu just has a higher “skill floor.” You usually need to press it, season it well, and match the type to the dish. Done right, it can be crispy, creamy, chewy, or even meaty depending on how it’s prepared.
I would encourage you to venture out and give it a try. You probably haven’t had tofu prepared in a way you enjoy it yet.”
And here in the US it seems the prices are going up to keep pace with beef prices. I’d love to have plant based be cheeper. As it is rn I basically never eat meat. Both are too expensive
Lentils, beans, tofu, chickpeas. Much healthier, cheaper.
Sure, but I also want some affordable fake meat.
TVPs are absolutely underrated, it sure takes some learning but after that… Cheapest ever. (Never boil, always fry with spices and then add a little bit of water/veggie stock/tomato sauce…)
I love the texture TVP. But you need to mix it with other stuff, other wise it tastes blain. But with the right flavour, like stir fry flavour, it’s a great protein filling addition.
I love it in bolognese or lasagna… Or in tortillas. Or well, anywhere, it’s so easy to just add different spices.
My ‘secret’ ingredient that makes pretty much any tvp or tofu pop is a drop of liquid smoke or smoked paprika.
Those are amazing! Also nutritional yeast is pretty good to add in.
Huh, you fry the dry TVP? Do you then let it simmer in the sauce for as long as one would normally boil it?
I have some steak-like TVP here, which is going to remain dry in the core, unless you really give it its time, so not sure how well it would work with that.
I do also have (pre-)roasted TVP, though, where I assumed, they do that when extruding or something. Maybe they actually throw it into a big pan before shipping… 🤔
Not who you’re replying to, but there’s one recipe with TVP that I like which cooks kind of close to that where you cook the TVP with only a little bit of vegetable broth and all the spices + onions. https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/easy-tvp-tacos/
I add plenty of oil in the pan and some onions, then add the dry TVP, mix well, add all the spices, let fry until it looks “right” and then I add water/veggie broth or canned tomatoes, depending on what I do. This works with small or smaller texture or “mince-type” or so.
With big, steak-like pieces I do soak them in hot water for like 5 minutes before frying, but never boil.
Will have to play around with it some more, but first experiment was already pretty good. They fry a lot faster than I would’ve thought and do taste better.
Honestly, I’m most excited about this way of preparing them, though, because boiling them first, then frying them, was always annoying. Like, you’d need to really press out the water and need a really hot pan to be able to seer them. And you’d need a pot and a pan rather than just a pan. And if you didn’t wait long enough while boiling, you couldn’t really put them back into the water. And so on… 🙂
In other words “accept your slop and like it!”
If you think those are slop, I fear you are looking at bad recipes
I’ll pass on the tofu every time.
To be fair, saying you don’t like tofu is often more about how you’ve had it than tofu itself.
It’s basically a neutral base, so it takes on whatever flavors and textures you give it. If it’s under-seasoned or cooked wrong, it’s bland and kind of unpleasant. But the same is true for a lot of foods. A badly cooked egg can be rubbery or sulfur-heavy, but that doesn’t mean eggs are bad overall.
Tofu just has a higher “skill floor.” You usually need to press it, season it well, and match the type to the dish. Done right, it can be crispy, creamy, chewy, or even meaty depending on how it’s prepared.
I would encourage you to venture out and give it a try. You probably haven’t had tofu prepared in a way you enjoy it yet.”
https://sixhungryfeet.com/16-tofu-recipes-to-convert-a-meat-lover/
Hey, thanks for the link! I’m not a vegan, but I do respect the choice. And I’m always on the lookout for good recipes! Good food is good food.
There’s still a lot of other whole plant-based foods to have instead! There are plenty of people on plant-based diets without any tofu