Vegetarian Soul Food
February 17, 2008 8:57 AM Subscribe
Vegetarian substitutions four soul food dishes.
Looking for recommendations for what would make the best meatless alternatives to the constituent ingredient is many soul food dishes, including salt pork, tripe, bacon drippings, turtle meat, rabbit, and possum.
Also, if any of you have recipes for vegetarian soul food options, please share.
Looking for recommendations for what would make the best meatless alternatives to the constituent ingredient is many soul food dishes, including salt pork, tripe, bacon drippings, turtle meat, rabbit, and possum.
Also, if any of you have recipes for vegetarian soul food options, please share.
Extra firm tofu can be substituted for a lot of mild-flavored meat. It will take on the flavor of the dish.
Extra firm tofu that has been frozen and defrosted takes on the texture of coarse bread, which makes it good for stir-fries and stews, where it needs to hold its shape. Tofu that has not been frozen is silkier, and might be a good sub for the turtle meat in turtle soup (my only experience with turtle meat, sorry). You could "shred" it by pulling or cutting it into long strands.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:32 AM on February 17, 2008
Extra firm tofu that has been frozen and defrosted takes on the texture of coarse bread, which makes it good for stir-fries and stews, where it needs to hold its shape. Tofu that has not been frozen is silkier, and might be a good sub for the turtle meat in turtle soup (my only experience with turtle meat, sorry). You could "shred" it by pulling or cutting it into long strands.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:32 AM on February 17, 2008
I wholeheartedly second hydrophonics suggestion with the Black Hebrews' cookbook - this article has a few really nice recipes from their restaurant.
posted by watercarrier at 9:36 AM on February 17, 2008
posted by watercarrier at 9:36 AM on February 17, 2008
I'm not veggie, but I don't always have the salt pork and bacon drippings my Southern grandmother makes such fine use of. To supply the smokey richness of pork in long cooked dishes like beans or greens, I've had good luck with dried mushrooms (preferably porcini, but shitake isn't bad and much cheaper) and Spanish smoked paprika. The paprika in particular mimics that smokey pork taste particularly well.
posted by mostlymartha at 9:43 AM on February 17, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by mostlymartha at 9:43 AM on February 17, 2008 [2 favorites]
Best answer: (I am vegan.) Replacing for specific meat products is usually going to fail because the replacements, while often tasty and well textured, are going to be differently textured and flavored than the original ingredients. You might have success with vegan/vegetarian bacons, but in my experience these are passable only when fried to a crisp (as for breakfast), and they won't work in the same way as bacon is probably used in a soul food context (e.g. the fat rendered off as a base of a stew).
Your best bet is to avoid soul food recipes which are meat-heavy, replace animal fats with vegan/vegetarian margarine or oil, and replace meat-based flavors with vegetables (vegetable broth, garlic, onions). If you must make vegetarian versions of meat dishes, you should try visiting a large asian market, where you should be able to find false ham, at least, or a whole foods/natural foods store where you should be able to find some seitan (wheat gluten-based) products which are intended as meat replacements. You will surely not find vegetarian products specifically targeting salt pork or possum.
posted by beerbajay at 10:04 AM on February 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
Your best bet is to avoid soul food recipes which are meat-heavy, replace animal fats with vegan/vegetarian margarine or oil, and replace meat-based flavors with vegetables (vegetable broth, garlic, onions). If you must make vegetarian versions of meat dishes, you should try visiting a large asian market, where you should be able to find false ham, at least, or a whole foods/natural foods store where you should be able to find some seitan (wheat gluten-based) products which are intended as meat replacements. You will surely not find vegetarian products specifically targeting salt pork or possum.
posted by beerbajay at 10:04 AM on February 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I've found that adding chipotle peppers to any veggie dish gives it a very nice smokey/bacon-like flavor.
posted by missjamielynn at 10:08 AM on February 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by missjamielynn at 10:08 AM on February 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Soul vegetarian is the way to go. Kombu is a great way to replace salt pork.
posted by OmieWise at 1:06 PM on February 17, 2008
posted by OmieWise at 1:06 PM on February 17, 2008
Vegetarian duck would be my favorite substitue for a heavy meat in just about any dish, it's wonderful.
It's enriched wheat flour (gluten), black mushrooms (shiitake), water, soybean extract, sesame oil, sugar, salt.
posted by DenOfSizer at 2:17 PM on February 17, 2008
It's enriched wheat flour (gluten), black mushrooms (shiitake), water, soybean extract, sesame oil, sugar, salt.
posted by DenOfSizer at 2:17 PM on February 17, 2008
Best answer: What you want is The Grit Cookbook (link goes to all text available through a Google book search, though you need to buy a copy to get to get all the content, including the sauces and gravies chapter, which is what you really need). You may already know, but The Grit is a vegetarian restaurant in Athens, Georgia, that's been around over 20 years; I've never got to visit, but I love southern food and these people have worked hard to get something of that flavor and texture down for vegetarians. They've also got a good pantry list to get you started, and preparation tips to best texture and prepare the meat substitutes to make them as crispy and light as possible.
posted by melissa may at 4:55 AM on February 18, 2008
posted by melissa may at 4:55 AM on February 18, 2008
Another good resource for vegan soul food recipes: The Yellow Rose Cookbook by Joanna Vaught.
posted by pxe2000 at 4:52 AM on February 24, 2008
posted by pxe2000 at 4:52 AM on February 24, 2008
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This cookbook is from the people behind the Soul Vegetarian restaurants.
Here's an MSN Group with more recipes.
Poking around the recipes, I don't see a lot of ideas for meat substitutes. Instead the focus, like in most vegetarian cooking, is on recipes that don't rely on meat for substance and flavor.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:31 AM on February 17, 2008