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I just made some seitan earlier and realized I was almost out of fermented black bean paste. I use a ton of it, as I do with miso, Marmite, Vegemite, and other such goop for really deep, rich umami flavors in soups and stews, broths, sauces, marinades, glazes for tofu, and obviously flavoring liquid for gluten dough to make seitan. It got me thinking, though, that I've never tried using douchi on its own before. As in, straight-up fermented black beans. I know it's delicious, and I know I've had in things like mapo tofu, but just own its own, I've never cooked with it. Is it as versatile as the paste? I've also never used what is sold as "fermented black bean sauce" because one, it is obviously saucier, and two, I'm almost certain that different varieties and brands probably have a pretty wide variety of different flavors. I usually stick to one or two brands of paste, usually Wang's Chunjang. Chunjang can be somewhat sweet, but Wangs isn't and is really versatile. This stuff:  So has anyone ever used much douchi on its own?
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Dec 21, 2020 03:28
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Anyone have any mexican-ish recipes that are vegan and ideally fancy? Thinking taco ingredients, possibly with an entree that's more traditionally Mexican.
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Dec 28, 2020 22:35
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Decolonize Your Diet is really good!
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Dec 29, 2020 06:46
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How Wonderful! posted:Decolonize Your Diet is really good! I too enjoy pawpaw
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Dec 29, 2020 10:05
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That book is an instant purchase from me, thanks a lot for the post!
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Dec 29, 2020 16:37
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I have a mouth ulcer so I've been eating a lot of minestrone, which weirdly was something I used to have all the time before I stopped eating meat, but something I haven't made in years. Good, cheap and tasty, and does not currently risk lacerating the inside of my mouth 
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Dec 29, 2020 23:21
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Ate that at home when I was a kid all the time, and in school. Havent had it in ages
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Dec 30, 2020 01:16
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Just wanted to contribute my current go to roasted veggie bowl. Chop up a couple sweet potatoes into little cubes, toss in olive oil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Take equal parts broccoli and cauliflower florets and similarly toss them in oil and salt. Roast all of the above in the oven until crispy/slightly charred. Sautée some onions and bell peppers along with a bit of garlic. Roast up some chickpeas in a frying pan with some oil, salt, and chipotle powder until they’re close to being crispy. Make a tahini sauce with tahini, water, lemon, salt. Once it’s all done, toss everything in a bowl, and drizzle the tahini on top.
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Jan 9, 2021 22:32
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retpocileh posted:Just wanted to contribute my current go to roasted veggie bowl. Add some red cabbage + walnuts and you've nailed my dinner last night.
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Jan 9, 2021 23:11
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I've started blanching my potatoes with baking soda before roasting them. Does this also work with sweet potato, to get that crunchy-outside-but-fluffy-center feel?
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Jan 9, 2021 23:21
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Colonel J posted:I've started blanching my potatoes with baking soda before roasting them. Does this also work with sweet potato, to get that crunchy-outside-but-fluffy-center feel? My chef buddy told me the secret to crispy taters is to soak your starches in water overnight, dry the outside, and toss with cornstarch. Then freeze them. That way the oven heat can seal the outside before the moisture inside starts cooking.
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Jan 10, 2021 08:47
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Cyber Sandwich posted:My chef buddy told me the secret to crispy taters is to soak your starches in water overnight, dry the outside, and toss with cornstarch. Then freeze them. That way the oven heat can seal the outside before the moisture inside starts cooking. 
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Jan 10, 2021 09:06
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I see the use of freezing the potatoes before the cooking. I remember reading how to make homemade McDonald's french fries and by god the freezing before its second fry does help make them incredibly crispy.
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Jan 10, 2021 16:02
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So, preemptive apology that this question is right at the edge of this thread’s boundaries: I’ve been making vegan black beans for a little over a year now, trying different variants of prep methods, seasonings, vegetables, etc. What I’ve had to come to terms with is that they still don’t taste as “well rounded” as beans that include a little bacon etc. I briefly tried MSG to increase the umaminess, and it didn’t work; also left a weird taste. I tried a batch with some olive oil and couldn’t tell a difference—maybe I didn’t use enough? My question is, are there recommended substitutes for animal fats? I found a product called “Magic Vegan Bacon Grease” (or just “Vegan Magic”) that seemed like it might be what I’m looking for, but by all appearances it fell off the face of the earth in spring of 2019.
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Jan 11, 2021 06:11
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mod saas posted:So, preemptive apology that this question is right at the edge of this thread’s boundaries: I think it's hard because there is no vegan replacement for the taste of ham. But I never liked ham in beans even before I was vegan. I would try to find a Vegan pork l Or beef broth at a local Asian grocer and add a dash of liquid smoke. Sometimes Asian grocers have bullion cubes that are labeled beef or pork but are actually totally Vegan you just have to look.
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Jan 11, 2021 19:37
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For vegan baked beans I try to use a combination of oil, msg (or msg-providing components), and (liquid) smoke. If you have soy sauce or vegan fish sauce that might taste more rounded to you than powdered msg. You may also need to use more oil than you expect; I just used a neutral oil, but something that's solid at room temperature might be worth trying.
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Jan 11, 2021 23:38
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Is it worth it to buy a nice Dutch oven for vegan cuisine or is it only worth it for meat? (I already have an instant pot)
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Jan 12, 2021 00:02
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Your Instant Pot can do multiple things compared to a classic Dutch oven. The only advantage a Dutch oven has is if it's larger. Or if you get the camping version with the feet & the flat top cover to put coals on.
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Jan 12, 2021 00:31
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Allstone posted:For vegan baked beans I try to use a combination of oil, msg (or msg-providing components), and (liquid) smoke. If you have soy sauce or vegan fish sauce that might taste more rounded to you than powdered msg. You may also need to use more oil than you expect; I just used a neutral oil, but something that's solid at room temperature might be worth trying. Tamari and vegan worcestershire also work if you don't have soy sauce. Animal fat is just fat so anything like oil, shortening, and margarine will work. Here's the recipe I generally use for my beans, it was originally for pinto but it makes some decent black ones as well. quote:1 tbsp olive oil
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Jan 12, 2021 00:52
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I made some mushroom powder a little while ago and a dash of it is a really nice umami kick in soups and stuff. I've also been using crisped up mushrooms as a topping for all sorts of salad lately so I guess it might be worth trying something mushroomy for your bean problem?
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Jan 12, 2021 01:42
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xtal posted:Is it worth it to buy a nice Dutch oven for vegan cuisine or is it only worth it for meat? (I already have an instant pot)
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Jan 12, 2021 03:29
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xtal posted:Is it worth it to buy a nice Dutch oven for vegan cuisine or is it only worth it for meat? (I already have an instant pot) Dutch oven will probably be worth it for any vegan baking you might want to do, especially yeast bread.
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Jan 12, 2021 03:43
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Any recommendations for a tofu substitute? The wife reacts badly to soy and I want more body to the vegan Asian dishes I'm making.
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Jan 12, 2021 07:39
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Afriscipio posted:Any recommendations for a tofu substitute? The wife reacts badly to soy and I want more body to the vegan Asian dishes I'm making. Seitan is by far my favorite meaty protein. It's got about the same texture as chicken, and it's made from gluten so it's soy free. Should work nicely in a bunch of asian dishes. You can buy it pre made, most grocery stores I've seen have a few varieties of it in the same section you'd find tofu/vegan products, but it's also pretty easy to make at home.
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Jan 12, 2021 08:15
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Afriscipio posted:Any recommendations for a tofu substitute? The wife reacts badly to soy and I want more body to the vegan Asian dishes I'm making.
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Jan 12, 2021 08:24
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mod saas posted:So, preemptive apology that this question is right at the edge of this thread’s boundaries: I think you know the threads answer to that question! That trying to recreate dishes that use animal products without using animal products is a) doomed to (at least partial) failure but more importantly b) to miss the point entirely! It's like when I was younger and trying to 'do Indian cooking', getting frustrated by the fact that it didn't taste like the oily, salty Having said all of that, as people have said a lot of the appeal of eating dead pigs is that fat and salt content.
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Jan 12, 2021 11:37
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TychoCelchuuu posted:What are you cooking? "Asia" covers the majority of the world's population and hundreds upon hundreds of cuisines. Mostly Japanese-style dishes. Definitely not authentic stuff as I can't get the ingredients where I am.
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Jan 12, 2021 14:59
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What sort? Japan uses tofu for like a million different things.
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Jan 12, 2021 16:42
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mod saas posted:So, preemptive apology that this question is right at the edge of this thread’s boundaries: As others have said, you're missing mostly fat and some salt/umami, so things that really ramp up the fat will go a long way. Genuinely caramelized onions - cooked 40+ minutes in a lot of oil or vegan butter at a low-medium heat - are my go-to for rich beans or greens. Olive oil by itself isn't flavorful enough IMO, but maybe a combination of more than you previously used with additional seasoning would be a solution too. I think people under-appreciate quite how much fat is in animal products. I also love dashi made from kombu and mushrooms for adding depth to saucy food, but haven't tried it for beans.
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Jan 13, 2021 01:14
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If I'm cooking something "meaty" adding some smoke flavor usually enhances the meatiness. I dunno if it's some memory from eating smoked meat that triggers or what. I use smoked paprika or a few drops of liquid smoke.
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Jan 13, 2021 07:59
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Miso usually hits the spot for me, other fermented bean products (gochujang is amazing in everything) are also a great choice for adding savoury deliciousness to almost everything. It will not taste exactly like pork, however, because it isn't - it will be a new wonderful taste!
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Jan 13, 2021 10:30
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Lot of people need black beans in their life it looks like.
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Jan 13, 2021 11:46
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TychoCelchuuu posted:What sort? Japan uses tofu for like a million different things. Firmer tofu, I suppose. I really hadn't thought too much about what tofu I was looking to replace, it was more of a general question. Thanks for being so thorough, you're putting more thought into the question than I did.
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Jan 13, 2021 14:37
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I saw this tiktok of someone making tofu from chickpeas and I thought it looked really good - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJcUT49w/
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Jan 13, 2021 15:12
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I think that’s usually called Burmese tofu if you wanted to look up more (the guy in the video could have called it that but I watched without sound). I’ve never had it so I can’t say what it tastes like. Not really tofu at all since it’s not coagulated, but that’s what it’s called for some reason.
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Jan 13, 2021 16:03
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spatula posted:I saw this tiktok of someone making tofu from chickpeas and I thought it looked really good - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJcUT49w/ In the interest of eating locally where possible, I'd be really interested in what is required of a bean/pea to be made into tofu. What aspect of its beanicity is it that makes it suitable? It's now possible to get UK-grown soya beans and their derivatives but if I could make tofu out of beans I can grow more easily I would be 
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Jan 13, 2021 16:10
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From my research, chickpeas and peanuts are the two things you can make "tofu" out of if you're vegan and don't eat soy
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Jan 13, 2021 23:56
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crazyvanman posted:In the interest of eating locally where possible, I'd be really interested in what is required of a bean/pea to be made into tofu. What aspect of its beanicity is it that makes it suitable? I looked this up briefly. It appears that the process is not totally understood at this point. I found one 2017 article (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2016.07.022 but I get a paywall) where the abstract says "Sugars, alcohols, or salts, when added to food, affects the heat denaturation of proteins and the sol-gel transition of macromolecules. Such an effect of cosolvents has long been known and exploited; yet understanding how they work at a molecular level has been a matter of scientific debate for decades, because of the lack of a definitive theory which can provide a microscopic explanation." An article (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323676422_Tofu_technological_and_nutritional_potential) in an Indian food industry magazine briefly reviews a few theories of tofu formation. My reading is that it's an interaction between the coagulant, the protein and lipid content in soy, and some other structural components in soy that allows coagulation and formation of tofu. So it's probably a combination of the specific proteins in soy being easy to make into tofu and the fat content being just right for formation of a good end-product. Soy has a few different proteins that coagulate at different rates so maybe other beans don't have similar properties. Apparently peanuts can be somehow coagulated like tofu, which seems to indicate that the fat content is fairly important. Soybeans actually contain a decent amount of fat along with protein, they have about a 2:1 protein:fat ratio. Chickpeas have a little less fat at about a 3:1 ratio and common beans (pinto, black beans, navy beans, etc) have an even lower content more like 20:1. IMO you should look into tempeh. It's not really like tofu, but it's a processed bean product that you can fry up and it's pretty delicious. Traditionally made with soy, but other beans work well as far as I know. For tempeh you're fermenting beans with a specific mold that binds the beans together forming a cohesive brick. Then you can cook/fry/whatever. So you could use common beans or other beans that you can grow in the UK without much issue. The only difficulty is you have to ferment it fairly warm.
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Jan 14, 2021 00:33
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