In the meantime there are various vegan products on the market. But which are suitable for what kind of recipe? And how do they taste? Here’s a list of frequently used foodstuff I use: Dried Soya
It is easy to get and can be used in various ways. Normally it is briefly soaked in water and afterwards washed up to get rid of the typical soy taste. Otherwise there is the possibility to get it as finished goods in a "six-pack", but be careful, it is quite spicy and should therefore be diluted with pieces of tomatoes.
Recipe for a tasteful hash-soy-sauce:
A little onion, cut into pieces, roasted gently with the soy-hash and deglazed with a spoonful of soja-sauce. Pieces of tomatoes, add some red wine (the good stuff) and garlic and let it simmer for a while. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and for the ones who prefer it even more Mediterranean also with rosemary and thyme.
Hint: Some rasped celery and carrots generate a nice “base flavor” and sliced bell peppers together with mushrooms are optically impressive.
Oat based alternative to cream - "Oatcuisine" (Oatly)
A tasty substitute for cream. It is not whipable, but hasn’t the sweet taste of soy-cream and hence is good for hearty meals. You can get it in an organic grocery store for about one dollar and it’s even opened nonperishable for a at least week if you put it in the refrigerator .
For a mushroom-cream-sauce:
Slice 1/2 lb (250g) of mushrooms and roast them slightly. Add a half leek and continue stir-frying everything. Deglaze with 1-2 tsp. of soy-sauce and mix it with the Oatcuisine. Season to taste with salt, pepper and rasped nutmeg. Et voilà.
Soya topping cream (Soyatoo)
You can get it in a 10 fl oz (300ml) Tetra Pack or as spray cream. The cream tastes nutty-sweet and is whipable. It’s perfect for creating cakes and desserts.
For a simple Mousse au Chocolat:
1/3 lb soja-cream (150g)
1/3 cup dark chocolate (35-50g)
2 tbsp. sugar
1 knife point vanilla
a pinch salt
1/2 sachet starch
Whip the cream with a hand mixer and add little by little salt, sugar, the starch and vanilla. Heat the chocolate gently and let it cool down a little. Afterwards fold the room temperated chocolate gently in the cream. Let it cool down for another hour.
Hint: Grated chocolate and chocolate sprinkles ennoble the taste.
Tofu
There are various producers and tastes of tofu. Starting with the original tofu, there are also silk tofu and the ones flavored with tomatoes and spices. The message is: try, try, try. As you know there is a huge diversity of personal tastes. I personally prefer the one with tomatoes. Tofu refines tomato-sauces and casseroles and additionally provides important proteins.
Tomato-Rocket-Pastry (for two persons):
2 tomatoes
1/4 cup Tofu Rosso (50g)
1/4 bunch rocket
5-7 leaves basil
salt, pepper, thyme
4 slides puff pastry, frozen
Dice and season all the ingredients. Unfreeze the puff pastry, afterwards give the mélange onto two of the slides. Cover it with the two other slides and seal the edges with a fork. Bake it at 390-430°F for about 10-15 minutes.
Chocolate
…finally the chocolate. A vegan lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to abstain from milk or white chocolate (dark chocolate is usually anyway vegan). There are offered a lot of free of lactose sorts of chocolate on the base of soy flour. Among these products there are some appropriate ones for baking/ melting and to purfle in an outstanding way. Other companies produce vegan chocolate on the base of rice-milk. Again: just try what fits your taste best.
