Need some quick cooking advice

I used to make a stew with beef tips but lately I haven’t been in the mood to eat meat. What can I replace it with that would add a similar texture and flavour. I am tempted to leave out the meat and just make it that way but I really would like to have some texture in there. It is a tomato based Magyar stew (it isn’t a Goulash but kinda related) with homemade pasta balls, potatoes, beef, peppers, and onions (basically).

Like I said, I want to dump the meat part out of the recipe but still want the texture part in there and maybe some flavour. (Looks like I will be going with vegetable stock too instead of beef stock and still think it would be good. Any suggestions on what I could replace it with? Eggplant? Tofu? Celery? Anything. Again I want some flavour and a texture similar to the meat.

HUGS!
Sqrl

Possibly tempeh or maybe even portobello mushrooms.

I like seitan. This link tells you how to make it, however most health-food stores around my place carry it.

The easiest substitutes would be eggplant or mushrooms (never tried Portabello, I understand it’s very good though).

Tofu makes for a better substitute when it’s prepared correctly, but I have no idea how to do so. Maybe a recipe site, specifically a vegetarian/vegan site or section could help you in that aspect.

I use Textured Vegetable Protein sometimes in chili. Look for TVP in a health food store or section. It comes dried (well, mine does) and looks kind of like…well, dog food. :smiley: But when it’s in my chili no one ever suspects that it’s not he-man macho MEAT.
You might want to use beef broth or boullion too, for better flavor.
~karol

This is the way I do tofu. I don’t know if it’s the Right and Proper Holy Way of Tofu Preparation, but my friends, my family and I all enjoy tofu dishes after the tofu has been treated thusly:

After I get the tofu home from the store, I cut the brick up into 3-4 oz. pieces and wrap them in paper towels. Then I cover a large tray or plate with a folded dishtowel and put the wrapped tofu chunks on there. Then I place a cookie sheet on top of the tofu, put a dutch oven full of water on top of that, and let the whole mess set for three or four hours.

After several hours of pressing, I unwrap the tofu chunks and wrap them in saran and put them in the freezer. About an hour before I start cooking, I take a chunk or two out of the freezer, unwrap it, and press it again using the above method, but only for as long as it takes the tofu to thaw. It’s now ready for stirfrying or any other cooking method.

Getting all of the moisture out of the tofu makes the curd firmer and gives it a more palatable texture. Also, this process allows the tofu to wick up the flavors in which it is immersed later in the cooking process. There are tofu presses on the market that do the same thing, but I think my way gets the job done just as well. And it’s not like I need another piece of specialized kitchen equipment. :smiley:

Good luck!

I was thinking eggplant too. I personally don’t like it unless it’s a very hidden taste (aka overpowered by other flavors) but it can help with the consistancy.

You can peel it then put them in an olive oil and “fry” them a little to get them to have some spring…aka similar to a meat.

Your other option would be to try some kind of seafood or even if you are daring some turkey. Then you get the proteins you need and still keep the stew as it’s meant to be.

We’re TVP fans at our house. I’ve tried Porotbello and hate them; they’re too chewy for my taste. But TVP is perfect. It comes in granules for fake ground beef in chili and in kibble-sized chunks for stews. They don’t have to be refrigerated and no other prep is needed.

I’d suggest trying the portabello mushrooms or the seitan. Portabellos have a nice chewy texture, though the flavor may be a bit strong for some. You might want to saute them first. You can get seitan in chunks (the Whitewave brand refers to this as "chicken style) that fairly closely resemble meat in their texture. It doesn’t have a whole lot of flavor, so it will absorb the flavor of the broth.

With regards to vegetable broth, for a “beef” style I like Westbrae’s Unbeef Broth, which comes canned. I’ve also recently tried Shari-Ann’s roasted garlic veggie broth, which was quite good. Adding some sherry and/or a bit of Worcestershire sauce (you can get a veggie version if you care) will add richness and depth.

I hadn’t thought of Portobello mushrooms, but they sound like they would work well (and I really like them).

Eggplant and tofu sound like viable options as well, especially tofu, which will take on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked in.

As for eggplant, my nephew said it best. “It looks and tastes just like meat. And that’s what scares me.”

Maybe a combination of these things might make for an interesting melange. I’m not the best one to ask, since I’m basically a meat ‘n’ potatoes guy, for the most part.

But good luck, Sqrl.

Great advice on the tofu pressing, Juniper! I do something similar but haven’t tried the “pre-freeze” step. Makes sense; thanks for the tip! (Don’t apologize for the improvised-weight thing. I use a couple of paving bricks triple-wrapped in foil.)

Ditto on the portobello 'shroom thing. I love 'em but if you wanted to mute the mushroom flavor you could probably blanch/parboil them first. They really are so meaty in texture they’d be a great substitute.

Love eggplant but agree w/ techchick. They’d probably hold their shape and texture much better if they were dusted lightly with flour first and sauteed before adding them to the stew. FWIW it really helps to salt the cubes/slices and let them sit a bit to shed some of their water. It also helps cut the obscene amount of oil they can absorb and the “eggplanty” taste.

I dunno, you could try substituting chunks of dark turkey but that sounds a bit funky. (Not a big turkey fan.) I suspect it’d ::snork, snork:: taste fowl.

A bit “out there” but how about substituting kasha? It has the meatiest taste and texture of the grains.

Veb

Try Veat. “The vegetarian meat,” they call it.

The Tofu Freeze thing a la Juniper works well for a nice texture. Alternately, if you can get TVP in large chunks: rehydrate it with boiling water, and add a large dash of balsamic vinegar. Let it set til soft, then add a tablespoon of garam masala (an Indian spice), and saute it in some good olive oil til browned. This is my own invention, but it approximates a beef flavor. Bon Appetit!

Oh, to add, saute some sliced shitaake mushrooms in red wine for a richer flavor!

Nice chunks of potato will work just fine if you have any aversions to tofu. If you use eggplant make sure to salt the cut slices heavily, wrap them in paper or cloth towels and then press them under a weight for at least one hour. Rinse off the salt afterwards and you will remove a substantial portion of the often undesirable alkaloid flavor it can have.

Whoops, I can’t eat mushrooms. I will try the seiten or tempeh before I go back to the eggplant. Typically, I don’t like eggplant either but this particular dish has a fairly strong base and all the fun parts come with the juxtaposition of texture on the inside. :slight_smile: I am allergic to most fish too, so that is a problem. I figured I would just start this one over complete vegetarian just because I think it would be nice. Thanks for the tips so far.

HUGS!
Sqrl

Sqrl, I hate eggplant as well, but the salting process renders it nearly edible. You will be amazed. Just avoid the really huge eggplants. Like zuchinni, the big ones are really nasty.

Totally cool, elelle!
::bustles off to try this::
You come through AGAIN!
Always one to gild the lily, whaddya think about about some chopped garlic in the oil? And maybe splash of tamari for browing/salt? (Horizons open before my dazzled eyes…)

Aaaack! Sorry, sweetie. Didn’t mean to poison/revolt ya. FWIW one-to-one ersatz foods rarely work, in my experience. Ingredients can substitute and duplicate only so far until they’re totally humiliated. Comes a time to just re-shift the basis and go from there. Betcha char-broiling some red peppers, tender redskin spuds, etc.–down the liquid, up the spices and binders–and still come up with a FINE, honest new variation on da stew.

Veb

Thanks TVeb. :slight_smile: I actually like mushrooms. I think they taste good and everything. They just act like the most revolting beans in the universe when I eat them. (The results making myself gag.) Thus I avoid them.

The tofu versions sound ok, but I think this particular stew has so many various textures in it that the meat texture really adds a lot to it. I believe it was the tempeh that sounded like it had the texture and some bulk I will be looking for (I was going to try the stew this evening but decided to just make a nice vegetable soup instead).

I haven’t ever cooked with eggplant. I have heard rumours that it has prep time but don’t know any specifics. Anyone want to clue me in?

HUGS!
Sqrl

Oh yeah Veb, how could I forget the garlic? Or shallots, or, if there’s time, caramelized onions. Those little gilded-lily bulbs go in everything!

Sqrl, if you use tempeh, brown it first, or the texture might be a little mooshy.