I could never be vegan, I love the taste of meat too much. Don't you miss bacon?!
— Curious
Dear Curious,
Turns out, vegans don’t actually have to miss out on any food at all! It’s as simple as switching up the ingredients. That’s right: you can make bacon-, chicken-, egg-, cheese- and ice cream-like foods out of plant-based ingredients.
Habit is comforting and change can be intimidating, but with the countless meat and dairy substitutes on the market and the abundance of vegan recipes out there, the transition to vegan eating is nothing but exciting and delicious!
You’d be surprised with how versatile vegan cooking can be. For example, nuts, like almonds and cashews , work well to make milk and cheese. Veganizing an egg is a simple swap of tofu or chickpea our for a scramble or an omelet. Butter can be replaced with a vegan butter such as Earth Balance or even re ned coconut oil. Mushrooms are great to make meaty vegan foods like burgers and bacon. Roasted cauli ower replicates chicken and even tastes better than the real thing. You can bread it and smother it in buffalo sauce (vegan, of course), barbecue sauce or, my all time favorite, cover it with an orange glaze to make your very own vegan version of Chinese orange chicken.
Don’t be intimidated. Making vegan food taste like non- vegan food isn’t nearly as complicated as it sounds. To give you a better idea of the simplicity behind making good vegan food, here’s a stellar Orange-Glazed Caulifower recipe of mine. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Breaded Caulifower: 1 head of caulifower, stem and core removed and broken into florets, 1/2 cup all-purpose, gluten-free flour, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
Orange Glaze: 1 cup fresh orange juice, 1/2 cup liquid aminos or soy sauce, preferably low-sodium, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 2 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp coconut sugar, 2 tsp fresh ginger, nely grated, 1 tsp red pepper akes, 4 garlic cloves, nely minced, 4 tsp cornstarch
Optional Garnishes: Sesame seeds and Green onion (scallions), sliced
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly greased foil.
2. Remove florets from the cauliflower. If needed, chop the cauliflower into smaller pieces to resemble the size of wings.
3. In a bowl, whisk all the batter ingredients together EXCEPT the bread crumbs. Place the breadcrumbs in a separate bowl and line it up beside the batter bowl.
4. Toss the cauliflower in the mixture one at a time, shaking off excess batter. Do not soak. Then, dip the cauliflower into the breadcrumbs to coat completely. Then, place onto the baking sheet. Repeat until all of the wings are coated.
5. Bake for 22 minutes.
6. While baking, put the orange juice, liquid aminos or soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, coconut sugar, crushed red pepper, garlic, ginger and cornstarch in a small nonstick skillet and whisk. Heat until it bubbles and starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
7. After 22 minutes, remove the cauliflower from the oven and, with a basting brush, coat the cauliflower with the sauce. Bake for another 5 minutes.
8. Serve over rice and top with optional sesame seeds and green onion. Enjoy!!
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