A Vegetarian Cook’s Tips for Using Textured Soy Granules

One of the most popular sizes of textured soy is called granules or mince, and it looks very much like grape nuts cereal. Granules can be used in any recipe that calls for ground beef or chicken, such as tacos, burritos, Sloppy Joes, lasagne, shepherd’s pie, stuffed mushrooms, stroganoff, and even vegetarian mincemeat pie!

Granules are the only size of textured soy that’s small enough to hold together to form foods such as burgers, spaghetti balls, or vegetarian loaf. However, because they don’t contain the solid fats that ground meats have, you do have to add either wheat flour or gluten powder to help them hold together once they’ve been reconstituted. A good ratio to use is cup wheat flour to 1 cup dry textured soy granules that have been soaked in 7/8 cup boiling water. Press together more firmly than you would with meat.

Many kinds of granules, such as bacon and pepperoni are pre-flavored and as well as being convenient as far as preparation time goes these are also great because they are often difficult tastes for the cook to create at home. The most popular flavored textured soy granule is bacon bits in soft and crunchy form and these can be found at any good salad bar. By adding pepperoni crumbles, simple versions of veggie or cheese pizzas are easily transformed into a heartier dish. Sausage flavoured crumbles can be used in gravy for biscuits or ground up in a grinder or hoagie whereas ham style bits make for a super addition as an ingredient in a casserole or a split pea soup. Last but not least, beef and chicken flavored granules are exactly what are needed to make a tasty burger or pot pie.

Whichever TVP product you decide to use it will need to be reconstituted and all you have to do is add a little less boiling water than granules and allow the mixture to rest for between five and ten minutes. At this stage if the granules appear to be too wet, drain off any excess water. Likewise, if they are too dry the additional of one or two more tablespoons of boiling water should solve the consistency problem. If you opt to use granules which are not pre-flavored you can add the flavouring of your choice to the boiling water during the soaking process. This allows the textured soy to more evenly absorb the added flavor. Chicken, beef or vegetable style broth can be used to do this as well as chilli powder, garlic granules, miso, soy sauce or your own personal favorite flavoring.

Remember that textured soy granules don’t contain fat like ground beef or chicken, so you’ll need to add oil if you want to fry them after they’re reconstituted. My favorite method is adding a little olive oil to a nonstick pan or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.

To find out where vegan and vegetarian cooks buy their meat substitutes, visit the Healthy-Eating.com website for TVP and other healthy foods.

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