Homemade Vegetarian Soy Chorizo

Ingredients

Preparation

The day before:

Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch slices. Blanch the tofu for about 1-2 minutes. Drain the liquid. Let the tofu cool a little. Then mash the boiled tofu with your hand using disposable gloves. Set the tofu aside.

In a very small bowl, add the xanthan gum and lecithin to enough vegetable oil (about a teaspoon) to dissolve the xanthan gum.  This will keep the xanthan gum from beading up into balls when it comes into contact with water.  Stir them together thoroughly. It's kind of like making a roux. Set aside.

Soak the TVP in a little less than a cup of boiling vegetable broth, diced onion and diced tomatoes. Stir, then let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. Drain using a fine mesh colander and remove as much excess liquid as possible.

Transfer the hydrated TVP to a large bowl. Add the mashed tofu, the xanthan gum-lecithin mixture, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, thyme, allspice, marjoram, cinnamon powder, cayenne powder, red chili powder, the diced red ancho chile and white vinegar. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the top with 3 tablespoons of oil to prevent it from drying and forming a crust. Plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day:

In a non-stick pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the minced garlic and shallot. Cook until it's fragrant and slightly golden. Add the soy chorizo needed for your recipe (don't overcrowd the pan). Add salt and pepper if necessary. Lower the heat to medium. Cook for about 10-12 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the soy chorizo from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Your soy chorizo is ready!

You can use it as a substitute for ground meat in a lot of dishes like tacos, and vegetarian Shepherd's pie.

Tips

Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is a meat substitute made from soy flour. When it's cooked it has the same texture as ground meat. You can find this product online or in any specialty food store like Whole Foods. TVP has a pretty long shelf life if stored in an airtight container. 1 cup of TVP provides 50 grams of protein! I use about 1 cup of TVP to a little less than 1 cup of liquid. 1 cup yields about 2 cups of hydrated TVP.

Roasting the ancho chile is the same procedure as roasting a bell pepper. Wash the pepper, pat dry, then brush with oil. Place a grill on your stove, then char all the skin of the ancho chili. Wrap in aluminum foil. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Wash the pepper under running tap water and the skin will come right off. Seed it, then slice the ancho chile. Just make sure you don't touch your eyes afterwards . The chile is very spicy, and if you touch your eyes, it will sting.

I usually make about 2 cups of soy chorizo. I cook a little bit at a time. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

You can make your own chorizo with the same spices and white vinegar using lean ground meat like turkey if you're afraid of using a "high-cholesterol" meat. Just make sure, you marinade the meat long enough so all the spices get into the meat.

I use liquid lecithin as an egg yolk substitute. You can also find this online or in any specialty food store like Whole Foods.

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