Soy curls

@Lou

Are you using a smoker or dehydrator?

air fryer/toaster oven. The first batch used the air fryer setting and the second batch I used the bake setting. I liked the second batch better.
I'm not sure it would make a huge difference, but the real smoke does definitely add a wonderful flavour. That said, you could do this in an oven if super careful. I haven't tried the oven method, but I do believe soy curls are very forgiving.

I used that recipe I've seen posted here -
I didn't have all the ingredients but I wanted it to be mild anyway.
May I ask what you didn't like about it and perhaps I can help? Was it the taste, the texture, what went wrong?
I think this thread gave me unreasonable expectations. :)

I took them to a picnic/potluck. And everyone loved them. I ended up telling about 3 different people where you could buy soy curls and sending them the recipe.

I think I'll try this recipe next.

 
I made the Sweet Simple Vegan soy curls chik'n salad. I've been eating all week. I stuffed a tomato with it yesterday. So awesome. I have one serving left, and I think I'll have it in a lettuce wrap, or maybe on toast. I think my next recipe will be barbecue soy curls using homemade barbecue sauce.
 
I made the Sweet Simple Vegan soy curls chik'n salad. I've been eating all week. I stuffed a tomato with it yesterday. So awesome. I have one serving left, and I think I'll have it in a lettuce wrap, or maybe on toast. I think my next recipe will be barbecue soy curls using homemade barbecue sauce.
Where are you getting your recipes from.

I've only recently got some soy curls of my own. I'm late to this party.
 
Where are you getting your recipes from.

Lou, don't be afraid to tweak things on your own, instead of solely relying recipes. Often I will use several components from various recipes and incorporate them into my own take on things. The marinades for soy curl jerky are all similar in some ways. The fact is that you just want the right amount of seasoning to make jerky tasty. Too much salt in the brine can ruin things, and not enough also results in a not so great end product.

Some of the soy curl bacon marinades would work great for jerky. They're all kinda similar anyways. I haven't tried a dry rub instead of a marinade, but I suspect that would also work well.

I love the amazing possibilities they have. Soy curls are awesome!

*
 
  • Like
Reactions: PTree15 and Emma JC
I think I'm going to have to start with the first page of this thread and go thru it all again. Before I found some I only looked in here occasionally.

I tried the jerky in the air fryer and in the oven. I liked the oven better. what is the consensus?

one recipe I found had some guidelines for jerky

    • For every cup of dry Soy Curls, you want about a quarter cup of water or broth, a tablespoon of oil (optional but it does help with the texture) and another quarter cup combined of liquid flavoring such as soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup, hoisin sauce, BBQ sauce... You basically want a half cup of liquid for every cup of Soy Curls.


 
I think I'll try this recipe next.

That's the recipe I've made more a few times. I omit the extra seasoned salt and add about a 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
If you leave it in the oven longer it gets crispy. I take some out, and then leave some in longer.
I may make those ... I want to make all kinds of food though :confused:
 
Where are you getting your recipes from.

I've only recently got some soy curls of my own. I'm late to this party.
There are four really good recipes from the Sweet Simple Vegan, but Veganite is right about tweaking. You can totally season/flavor them in so many ways. I tweak stuff all the time. The buffalo soy curls I make are my own recipe, now that I know the basics of flavoring the soy curls. I use homemade buffalo sauce and mix it with some of the broth that I use for rehydrating when I cook them. So tasty and spicy.
 
@Lou

So just to give you an idea of how forgiving soy curls are I will tell you about my recent failed experiment. So I had this rub a friend gave me, made specifically for meat jerky. Since it was designed for real meat I was a bit reluctant to try it. Anyhow, I followed the directions and tasted what I was about to put in the smoker. It was horrible! It had no flavour whatsoever. So rather than go through with the smoking part with an inferior product I decided to make a quick marinade to help with that bland flavour. I whipped together a few ingredients from memory. I believe I used soy sauce, oyster sauce, Worcester, smoked paprika, onion and garlic powder, molasses, Marmite, and hot sauce. I diluted this slightly with water.

My next step to save the jerky was to lightly saute the soy curls in a bit of oil, being careful not to brown them. I only want them to absorb the oil at this point, which helps with the overall taste and texture. Then I dumped in the marinade in the pan and let them soak it all up. So nothing really cooks or browns in the saute pan. It's just a way of infusing the desired flavours.

Now the moist flavour enhanced soy curls go into my smoker. They could just as easily be going into your air fryer. The thing is I taste it before it goes in the smoker. You can really get a good idea what the final outcome will taste like. So if it needs adjusting, now is the time.

I suggest creating your own marinades. You can make them as savoury or as sweet as you desire. Take the best ingredients from your favorite recipes and make them into a custom recipe.

*
 
  • Like
Reactions: PTree15 and Emma JC
I'm making some more soy curl jerky today. I've perfected a couple flavours I really enjoy. I make a fairly traditional flavoured one that many of my meat eating friends think tastes very close to the real thing. I have come quite addicted to the buffalo flavour as well, which is my second choice.

For anyone that has a backyard I highly recommend buying an electric smoker, if you don't already own one. Liquid smoke just doesn't cut it, IMHO! I have smoked lots of other things in my smoker, ranging from mushrooms, potatoes, zucchinis, asparagus, etc. The list is endless. As a vegan it is one darn useful tool for me.

There are other options for smokers. My dad made one from an old refrigerator back when I was a kid. It wasn't pretty to look at but it worked. I just have a Big Chief smoker. Bradley makes some pretty high-end smokers. While Bradley's can cost a lot of money, the Little & Big Chief smokers are quite affordable.

Most traditional smokers don't have a small enough grates/screen for the tiny bits. I simply made one with some steel fencing. It works perfectly! I'm surprised, quite frankly, that I have not seen anyone using a real smoker for soy curls on YouTube, etc. It is amazingly good!

*
 
It's been awhile since I made soy curls. I'll have to get on that.
 
Me too~ o_O, I have 2 or 3 bags for some time!
I just really don't care for them as much as seitan I guess
I think my issue is I haven't really liked anything I make with them unless it's some kind of sweet/barbecue/Thai sauce. The same with the TikTok seitan nuggets. So I feel like I'm canceling out some of the nutrition because I'm adding sugar to it.
 
my suggestion would be to throw them in soups that have a tasty base, you don't have to soak them first and they will soak up all the great flavours in the soup - much as I love them done in the air fryer or the fry pan, we do eat them mostly in soups and I put some of the crumbs in my week day oatmeal

my honey likes to put the crumbs/smaller pieces in pea soup as well and adds a bit of smoke so it is like ham

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com
 
I have been eating them regularly (I just ordered four more bags). My favorite way is buffalo flavor. But I make the filipino-style and the chicken salad recipe quite a bit. I also just made that bacon-flavored recipe, which was pretty tasty despite being a little salty. I'm actually going to try putting them in a pot pie. I will flavor them with chik'n veggie broth first. I think they will be delicious in the pie. I like the soup idea, too. I also use the crumbs for taco filling. I think the crumbs would be good in a faux meat sauce as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Emma JC and KLS52
My issue will always be my sensitivity…aka disdain taste wise…to flavor/seasonings.
I tried them in my soup and it didn’t work out. I think my next endeavor will be to do a chick’n seasoning and then maybe make a gravy…they might be good as a kind of turkey with stuffing and mashed potatoes dish. And definitely cranberry sauce lol.