Vegan Bacon Food

VEGAN BACON

Steps:

• Add the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, onion powder and garlic powder to a mixing bowl and mix together.
• Then, in a measuring jug, add vegetable stock, canola oil, tamari, maple syrup, liquid smoke, dijon mustard and tomato paste and whisk together.
• Add the wet ingredients in with the dry and mix in with a spoon until you have a thick dough.
• Move the dough to a wooden cutting board and knead it for 5-8 minutes until it is pretty stiff and firm. 5 minutes is sufficient if you have very strong hands, if you have weaker hands then up to 8 minutes may be needed. Watch for how the dough feels to know when it has been long enough. It should be firm and spring back when stretched. See the blog post for more notes about kneading.
• Form the dough into a square as much as you can, loosely wrap it in foil and steam it for 20 minutes. The water should be boiling before you add the steamer basket so that it steams properly for the full 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes of steaming unwrap it from the foil and allow to cool completely. When it's cool, use a sharp knife to cut it into even slices.
• Prepare your marinade sauce by adding tamari, maple syrup, smoked paprika, tomato paste, garlic powder, onion powder and liquid smoke to a measuring jug and whisk with a mini whisk until smooth.
• Heat up a frying pan with the grapeseed oil and then add the first batch of bacon slices (we did 5-6 slices at a time) and brush on the marinade sauce. Flip the slices and brush the marinade sauce onto the other side. Flip the bacon slices regularly until charred on each side.
• Keep leftovers in the fridge and enjoy within about a week. It's also freezer friendly if you want to freeze it, and then thaw overnight in the fridge.

VEGAN BACON

Steps:

• Fry tofu strips on low heat until they are crispy on the outside. The best way to do this is to lay them in the pan in the oil and let them sit for at least 10 minutes, simmering. They should turn easily after that.
• Turn them and give them another 10 minutes on the other side.
• Mix the soya sauce with the liquid smoke first, then take the pan off the heat.
• Pour the liquid smoke/soya sauce into the pan and stir the tofu so all sides are coated.
• Sprinkle the yeast over all, stir some more, over the heat, until the liquid is gone and the tofu is covered with sticky yeast.

SMOKY VEGAN BACON

Steps:

• With a mandoline or vegetable peeler, cut carrot into long, thin strips. In a shallow bowl, whisk maple syrup, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and liquid smoke. Dip carrot slices into syrup mixture, allowing excess to drip off., In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook carrot slices in batches until browned, 4-6 minutes, turning once.

BACON WITH A VEGAN!

Steps:

• Heat oil into large skillet.
• Fry "bacon" strips on low heat until crispy on the outside. To do this, place them in the pan in the oil and let them simmer for about 10 minutes, without turning. Now they are firm enough to turn easily.
• Turn them and simmer another 10 minutes on the other side.
• Mix the soy sauce with the liquid smoke and brown sugar, stirring to disolve sugar.
• Remove skillet from heat.
• Pour the liquid smoke mixture into the pan and move the tofu around so all sides are coated. Place back on heat.
• Sprinkle the nutritional yeast, covering all sides. If you like, sprinkle a little freshly ground black pepper on now. Stir gently until the liquid is gone and the tofu is covered with a crispy coating of yeast. Enjoy!

VEGAN 'BACON'

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/100C fan/gas 1 and line two roasting trays with baking parchment.
• Mix together the oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, smoked paprika and ground cumin. Lay the aubergine slices on the roasting trays and brush both sides with the spice mixture.
• Roast for 45-50 mins until partially crisp- they'll crisp up more when cool.