Vegan food doesn’t have to be boring. Yes, they’re made from plants and vegetables, but with all the seasoning and spices we have on hand these days, the sky is the limit.
Recent developments in food technology and innovation have also given us new ways of revolutionising vegan food. Often taking on the form of many animal-based products.
So, if you’re a vegan, or a prospective vegan, or just someone who wants to try some home-cooked vegan food, here are some ideas that will surely be loved by both mother and child.
Seitan (Mock Chicken)
A relatively easy food to make, mock chicken or seitan is made from flour and water. That’s it.
Minus all the seasonings and whatnot that you want to flavour the ‘meat’, seitan is relatively simple. You basically mix flour and water together into a dough. And then you wash it. Yes, mummies, it’s exactly how it sounds.
After letting your dough rest for an hour, you wash it until the water runs clear. The end product is seitan, which is full of protein and resembles chicken.
Lastly, it’s all a matter of cooking it which may involve braising in some liquid vegetable stock or frying in a shallow pan with some neutral oil.
Yuba (Tofu Skin) Drumstick
On the list of vegan food that emulates its meaty counterpart as faithfully as possible, tofu skin chicken is right there in the top five. Often involving the use of a lemongrass stalk as the ‘bone’, vegan chicken drumsticks use tofu skin.
These are soaked in flavouring before wrapped around a long implement, prior to being baked or deep fried.
First, you simply rehydrate the dried yuba skin, drain it and then add some seasonings. Recipes will recommend a mixture of vegetable bouillon (veggie cube), corn starch, salt and Chinese spice, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
Afterwards, it’s all a matter of wrapping the skins around your lemongrass stalk.
Vegan Cheese
It’s always a hit or miss with vegan cheese because just like meat, you can never truly replicate the taste of parmesan or mozzarella. However, the vegan experts have come close.
Depending on the recipe, you will either need almonds or tofu. For the almonds, you need to soak them overnight before blending them into a paste.
Then, you simply add lemon juice, salt and nutritional yeast. You can get nutritional yeast for fairly cheap in Malaysia.
You’ll find that many vegan recipes will require this ingredient, so it’d be wise to always keep a few packets on hand. It’s what gives food that delicious ‘umami’ or meaty, savoury flavour that may often be missing in vegan food.
After all that blending, you can either eat the cheese as a sauce, or add cornstarch or agar-agar to harden it into a ‘block of cheese’ that you can cut up into smaller species.
Jackfruit Popcorn Chicken
I know what you’re thinking: popcorn chicken made from jackfruit?
What many of us Malaysians often think of jackfruit is the sweet, yellow-fleshed fruit often sold at the side of the street as fritters. But the Western world recognises the fruit’s culinary use in its young, unripe form.
It is usually savoury and has the uncanny resemblance of chicken. They are often sold canned as ‘young, green jackfruit’.
To make popcorn chicken out of this is simply to soak them in a brine (or vegetable stock), dry them off, coat them in spices (onion powder, garlic, powder, paprika, salt) and then bake them at 200 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes.
Finally, you coat them in a batter of flour, water, salt and spices and deep fry in a pan of oil.
Plant-Based Burger
You may think it’s totally impossible to replicate a burger patty with plant-based ingredients at home. But it’s totally doable.
You basically start with a base of shitake mushroom, walnuts, and soy sauce which you sauté first in a pan. Then, mix them in with a puree made of brown rice, cooked onions, beet root and corn starch.
There are many iterations of this recipe, with some using liquid smoke as a flavouring, and tofu or chickpea instead of mushrooms.
Try Non-Meat Alternatives
There are many ways to go vegan these days, no matter if you plan on doing it for long or not. Opting for a plant-based diet has numerous health benefits like helping you lose weight and balancing hormones.
However, do note that the above suggestions aren’t actual recipes. They are simply meal ideas that you can incorporate into your family menu. If you want more precise measurements and ingredients, check out our list of tantalising vegan-friendly recipes here, mummies!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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