BrookValley
Lovin' The Homestead
You could, but it wouldn't be my personal preference in a recipe like this. If I did use it, I would freeze firm water-packed refrigerated tofu (not the silken style found on the shelf in aseptic packaging) first. Freezing gives the tofu a firmer, chewier texture. Then I'd marinate the heck out of it. But I usually only use tofu in recipes with very heavy, flavorful sauces (we use it often in place of paneer in Indian recipes) because it's just really, really bland. It takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking it in, but it doesn't stand alone well if you just throw it in a recipe in place of meat. I would use seitan because 1) it usually comes pre-seasoned, and can stand alone fairly well, and 2) the texture of seitan is going to be much closer to that of beef roast than any other meat substitute.roosmom said:Ok I am not a vegan, but going with the flow, could you use tofu? Bean curd?
I typically don't use a meat substitute as a substitute for the flavor of meat, necessarily, but usually for the texture it adds. Of course, there are plenty of dishes that can go without meat or a meat substitute altogether...we don't use a lot of meat analogs around here and rarely tofu. I prefer to use veggies, beans, and cheese (we're not vegan, so we do use dairy products). But we do occasionally eat veggie burgers and stuff like that. I've found though that I don't eat veggie burgers as a replacement for a beef patty--rather, it's a delivery vehicle for the condiments! Sometimes you just want something on a bun with cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and ketchup, you know?
I like lentils, too. I make a killer shepherd's pie with a lentil filling. I find that lentils work great in place of ground beef in many things.
