Vegan & Gluten Free—Serves 2
Featuring Kathy Hester’s yummy sauce. Find Kathy @ https://healthyslowcooking.com/
This chicken-like Chinese favorite is so delicious that it will fool lovers of the standard fried classic. In my YouTube video https://youtu.be/5ok9IeCbyrA, I doubled this recipe and two of us ate more than half over veggies and steamed brown rice. TERRIFIC!
4 oz dry soy curls—*I prefer Butler’s Soy Curls. See purchase info at the end
Marinade & sauce—add ingredients to the blender
3/4 cup warm water (possibly more. This recipe calls for more than Kathy’s)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup tamari (gluten free & low sodium from San-J), or soy sauce, or coconut aminos
3 tablespoons date syrup, maple syrup, or agave nectar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, I used San-J gluten free hoisin. Good, but omit to cut sugar & salt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1.5 teaspoon sesame oil or tahini
1/2 teaspoon chili paste like sambal oelek, or sriracha, to taste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Vegetables to either ‘stir fry’ in the sauce, or steam. Regarding veggies, I always say the more the better.
1/4 cup sliced onions, and more for garnish
1/2 red bell pepper, cut in strips
1/2 green bell pepper, cut in strips
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced 1/4″ rounds
3-4 oz broccoli cut into bitesize florets
For thickening:
1/2 cup of sauce from the blender
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Put soy curls in a medium bowl, or a ziploc baggie (preferably silicone).
Blend the marinade/sauce ingredients. Mix 1/4 cup in a small dish with cornstarch. Pour the remaining sauce over the soy curls and mix well. To keep them immersed in a bowl, put a small plate over and lightly weigh it down. If in the baggie, push out the air and seal it. Let them reconstitute for about 15 minutes, stirring or turning a couple of times.
With a slotted spoon or spatula, lift the soy curls out of the sauce and into another bowl, retaining the sauce for cooking.
When ready to cook, heat a non-stick skillet to medium high. You may brush the pan with a oil-spritzed paper towel to help prevent sticking. Add the soy curls to the otherwise dry pan and toss several minutes until they are lightly colored. You may use a touch of broth or water as you do this to help prevent sticking, but not enough to make them wet. When lightly brown, remove the soy curls from the pan and set aside.
Add the vegetables to the pan with the sauce that they marinated in, toss and cook until barely tender. You may cover for a few minutes to speed it up. When the vegetables are finished, and still slightly crisp, remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon or spatula, leaving the sauce behind.
Add the lightly browned soy curls to sauce and add the sauce/cornstarch mixture. Stir and reheat. Cook down until the soy curls are coated with a thick sauce. If too thick, add a bit of water at a time until they are to your liking.
Serve soy curls, vegetables, and cooked rice in separate bowls to be assembled at the table. Or, plate them in individual big wide bowls as you like. Beautiful with the vegetable peeking out around the edges, with a bit of rice, and a pile of sauced soy curls on top,
Garnish with fresh sliced green onion. Roasted peanuts are a tasty garnish as well.
Enjoy!
Cook’s notes:
*Butler foods non GMO, soy curls are a healthy, minimally processed form of soy. They are made from whole soy beans that are soaked, cooked, pressed, and dried. Nothing added or subtracted. They help make going vegan so much easier for someone who misses the texture of meat. See recipes on their site below.They are typically sold bagged in 8 oz portions which reconstitutes to 1.25 lb. An interesting explanation and evaluation of soy curls can be found at https://www.iamgoingvegan.com
They are sold at some healthy foods markets; on Amazon, 3 bags for $19.97 free shipping with Prime); Butler Foods https://www.butlerfoods.com, 6 bags for $24 plus $11.00 shipping;.
and from Azure Standards online healthy foods store https://www.azurestandard.com, 6 bags for $24.09 +about $14.75 shipping, or free “drop point delivery” with $50 order.
I order on Amazon because, with free shipping and overnight delivery, it works out to be a good deal.