How do I use soya mince?

Katgoddess

I made a shepherds pie with this today. Combined with the baked beans, tomatoes, and onions I normally use it tasted fine. Nothing like meat but was more like an extra vegetable in the pie IYSWIM. Next time I'll add a beef stock cube and see if that makes a difference. Made a good pie though.

In my Sainsburys its in the tinned vegetable isle with the packets of pearl barley, lentils, country mix etc in the same sort of packet. 200g makes 800g and I only used 50g for 4 servings. The sell it in a nearby tiny sainsburys as well.

letsgobilliejoe

I would think not, cos usually it states on the packaging that you CAN freeze it, but never states that you CAN'T. plus, freezing it would change the consistency, as it changes that molecular makeup of the vegetable proteins in it, probably causing it to separate. it's not like cows millk, which is freezable being due to it being just fat suspended in water.

bluemoon_3

Jo_R, what I tend to do in that situation is gradually use up the unsweetened by adding a little bit to each tea/coffee/bowl of cereal along with mostly sweetened, until it is used up.

mamaoba

I can't thank you enough for this thread. DS is dairy intolerant and soya milk is soooo expensive. I tried soya yoghurt a while ago but DS is demanding it more and more often so I'm determined to master it now.

Oat cream is nice - I'd love to be able to make (and freeze?) it so we could have scones and cream more often. Does anyone have a clue as to how?

Would also like to know how to do rice milk?

ChocClare

I went into Weigh & Save at 5 minutes before closing yesterday as I happened to be passing and saw this stuff in one of their bins. I had a vague memory that it could be used instead of mince, so grabbed half a scoopful and brought it home.

Now what? :rolleyes:

Any advice on how to cook it? Recipes? Ideas?

I look to you all! It looks like fine gravel to me, but I'm prepared to be amazed!

Thanks very much.

filigree_2

Some vegetarians use it instead of mince to make spag bol with, personally I don't like eating a meal based entirely on TVP but that's just my taste.

Because it's dry and almost tasteless you need to soak it in something with a bit of flavour. Perhaps a bit of Marmite dissolved in hot water, or stock, or the juice from a tin of tomatoes - whatever you've got. Leave it for at least 15 minutes and it will get moist and bulk up. Then you can add it to any meal that uses mince, to stretch it further. For one meal I used to use about two tablespoons of dried TVP, you could start from there. If you decide you like it you can use more next time.

aimeelister

I cant remember the amounts that are on the side of the packet i have at home but.. I normally dont bother following the instructions!!

I make up a stock cube (I use beef as I'm not vegie) and then add a handful of mince and cover with boiling water and leave it to sit for a bit. If its still crunchy about 15mins later i add another slop of water, if its expanded and is nice and moist i then add it to recipies such as spag bol and chilli to help bulk out and use less mince. I dont worry too much about the amount of water i add as you can always add more to the final dish.

hth Aimee

busymumof3

Hi chocClare

I use this at least once a week as husband is veggie. Kids eat too - they know no different as we have never eaten any red meat. It is true you need to pack in the flavours with TVP but there is no need to marinate.

For Spag bol sauce -

Heat one table spoon oil and gently fry a large onion

Add two sliced and diced bell peppers and a 250g pack mushrooms. I use chestnut

Hydrate the TVP by pouring over boiling water in a large container. Stir well and leave for 5 mins or so. Will swell up a bit.

Drain and add the TVP to the veg mixture. I buy 200g packs from Sainsbury.

Add 2 x tins chopped tomatoes, tablespoon of marmite, 2 x tablespoons of tomato puree, approx 3 teaspoons of marigold veg boullion or to taste, 2 x teaspoons of dried basil, oregano.

Leave to slowly bubble away for about an hour. Makes heaps. Serve with lots of spagetti and grated cheese on top. Even better next day when flavours even more developed.

For mince, I leave out the bell peppers and use a few large diced carrots instead. Great second day with mash on top like cttage pie.

You get the idea, for veg chilli, I use onion, lots of peppers and a tin of kidney beans, fresh chilli if I have otherwise chilli powder is fine.

Happy experimenting.

If you have a confirmed meatarian in the house they will not be fooled but I have found most people find it very palatable and low fat too.

busymumof3

Have just noticed other posts say to leave 15mins or more. May be so for TVP chunks which I don't tend to use. ( Makes quite a good goulash though)The TVP mince from Sainsburys is fine to add after 5 minutes as long as you give it a good mix to cover with the boiling water. You will know anyway since it goes soft and swells up a bit and lots of water gets absorbed. Do remember to drain well before adding as lots of liquid being added doesn't do much for the taste.

wigginsmum

How does this compare pricewise with beef mince?