Best vegetarian meat alternatives

[smoulder]

Imagine the anti-vaccine mentality:

“I won’t allow these unknown substances into my body”

I wonder how many eat these meat substitutes and have any idea what the hell is in them?

My PhD peer actually got a job in the industry, and pretty much indicated high sodium is the least of one’s worries about these products.

The amount of engineering to generate texture on these products are probably resource heavy, and you certainly have no idea what you are taking into your body.

For now, I’d definitely take meat over such substitutes any day.

If I were to go vegetarian, then leafy salads, beans and tofu. In actual fact, Indian vegetarian food probably has the greatest dish and flavour diversity, I could probably remain on an Indian vegetarian diet longer than any other (i.e. won’t get bored).


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I might be biased, but I have to agree with this. If it weren't for the burning need to eat meat for the protein content (because I'm a recreational lifter), I could live on Indian vegetarian food - the flavors do take away the blandness of the vegetables. Doesn't require making vegetables "feel like" meat - just pure unadulterated vegetables

[Lisafuller]

You obviously don't have gout issues like a lot of us. lol

I don’t have gout (and hope to stay that way), how do chickpeas affect those with gout? Didn’t even know that was a thing, always thought they were very healthy.

Not chickpeas (those I just don't eat) but beans. all sorts of germinating beans, red beans, green beans, pinto beans, lima beans, bean sprouts, soy beans in all their guises. I've even brought on gout flare-ups during the August Mooncake festival. Cannot touch red or green bean mooncakes! LOL. I rarely have any problems with gout any more, save a rough night on the town with too much Corona Extra (my favorite tipple for the past two years! LOL) cervesa. Always keep a card of colchicine at home for emergencies. I've otherwise, eliminated most of those foods that are loaded with Purine (and most are/were my favorite foods until 35 years go when it was diagnosed).

I wasn’t aware of this at all! My uncle suffers from gout, but I’ve never known what that entailed other than the fact that it could be very painful for those who have it. And a moon cake festival without green or red bean (even the soups) Suay!

[Lisafuller]

Hi, just wondering what everyone’s favorite non-meat sources of protein are. I’m largely plant-based, so most of my protein comes from tofu, eggs, and impossible meat. The only other alternatives I know about are seitan, tempeh, beyond meat but I’ve never tried any (with the exception of beyond meat, but hated it). Anything else?

Quorn. I tried only minced and I have not liked it any near to even consider as meat substitute but then I was not looking for giving up meat. Quorn is sold also as nuggets and burgers I believe.

I’m not really big on quorn but I haven’t heard the best reviews about it. I tried the Quorn porridge from Mr Bean, that was not bad but definitely not enough for me to use it as my main source of protein.

[Lisafuller]

Why though? If it's not for religious or compassionate reasons, a meat based diet is just superior to a plants only one.

My reasons are more for health and environmental consciousness. I’ve been wanting to go keto for ages, but not really sure how to go about it while also staying largely vegetarian.

[Lisafuller]

Imagine the anti-vaccine mentality:

“I won’t allow these unknown substances into my body”

I wonder how many eat these meat substitutes and have any idea what the hell is in them?

My PhD peer actually got a job in the industry, and pretty much indicated high sodium is the least of one’s worries about these products.

The amount of engineering to generate texture on these products are probably resource heavy, and you certainly have no idea what you are taking into your body.

For now, I’d definitely take meat over such substitutes any day.

If I were to go vegetarian, then leafy salads, beans and tofu. In actual fact, Indian vegetarian food probably has the greatest dish and flavour diversity, I could probably remain on an Indian vegetarian diet longer than any other (i.e. won’t get bored).


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I do see your point. For the most part I agree. Genetically engineered “meat” alternatives are pretty intimidating in that there is very little that us consumers know about the actual ingredients and processes involved in production. Compared to tofu, greens, beans, and other foods of nature, I’d feel a lot safer putting them into my body than BeyondMeat etc.

[Lisafuller]

Imagine the anti-vaccine mentality:

“I won’t allow these unknown substances into my body”

I wonder how many eat these meat substitutes and have any idea what the hell is in them?

My PhD peer actually got a job in the industry, and pretty much indicated high sodium is the least of one’s worries about these products.

The amount of engineering to generate texture on these products are probably resource heavy, and you certainly have no idea what you are taking into your body.

For now, I’d definitely take meat over such substitutes any day.

If I were to go vegetarian, then leafy salads, beans and tofu. In actual fact, Indian vegetarian food probably has the greatest dish and flavour diversity, I could probably remain on an Indian vegetarian diet longer than any other (i.e. won’t get bored).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I might be biased, but I have to agree with this. If it weren't for the burning need to eat meat for the protein content (because I'm a recreational lifter), I could live on Indian vegetarian food - the flavors do take away the blandness of the vegetables. Doesn't require making vegetables "feel like" meat - just pure unadulterated vegetables

Indian vegetarian food is so delicious! So many textures and flavors, not bland like you may expect vegetables to be (like in the US when “mixed greens” are literally steamed mixed vegetables, no seasoning whatsoever).

[nelyanne]

Why though? If it's not for religious or compassionate reasons, a meat based diet is just superior to a plants only one.

For some people meat is just gross and stinky.

For tempeh, I highly recommend tempeh by Chinatown brand that you can get from Redmart.
Personally, I am not a fan of Beyond meat, Omnimeat and all these new brands. Highly processed and expensive. I would rather choose Quorn, their products have been on the market since years. It's processed as well, but at least you can buy plain quorn pieces, and prepare with any seasoning you like.
I also a eat lots of chickpeas, beans and different kinds of lentils (check Indian stores and/or Indian brands).

Completely agree with you about BeyondMeat and Omnimeat- terrible and overpriced. I do think that Impossible meat does a great job of replicating the taste and texture of beef, just that it’s also on the pricey side. I’ve never really had tempeh, except once with my Ayam Bakar (as a side dish) and even then I didn’t really enjoy it. Any suggestions on how to prepare it?

The tempeh in the Indonesian dishes is usually too dry for my liking...

I am using a marinate with proportions like this (per ~200-250g of tempeh):
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon of honey or another sweetener (can be less if ketchup is already sweet)
- 1 tablespoon of ketchup
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (I recommend buying a big box from Redmart)

I marinate tempeh pieces overnight and fry.
I make a similar marinate for tofu as well.

[Lisafuller]

Why though? If it's not for religious or compassionate reasons, a meat based diet is just superior to a plants only one.

For some people meat is just gross and stinky.

For tempeh, I highly recommend tempeh by Chinatown brand that you can get from Redmart.
Personally, I am not a fan of Beyond meat, Omnimeat and all these new brands. Highly processed and expensive. I would rather choose Quorn, their products have been on the market since years. It's processed as well, but at least you can buy plain quorn pieces, and prepare with any seasoning you like.
I also a eat lots of chickpeas, beans and different kinds of lentils (check Indian stores and/or Indian brands).

Completely agree with you about BeyondMeat and Omnimeat- terrible and overpriced. I do think that Impossible meat does a great job of replicating the taste and texture of beef, just that it’s also on the pricey side. I’ve never really had tempeh, except once with my Ayam Bakar (as a side dish) and even then I didn’t really enjoy it. Any suggestions on how to prepare it?

The tempeh in the Indonesian dishes is usually too dry for my liking...

I am using a marinate with proportions like this (per ~200-250g of tempeh):
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon of honey or another sweetener (can be less if ketchup is already sweet)
- 1 tablespoon of ketchup
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (I recommend buying a big box from Redmart)

I marinate tempeh pieces overnight and fry.
I make a similar marinate for tofu as well.

Yes, the tempeh there was so dry! I’ll give the recipe a go if I get the chance, what do you pair it with?

[nelyanne]

I pair it with literally anything I can find in my fridge - couscous/millet/sweet potatoes, snow peas/capsicum/broccoli etc...
Also, Green BA restaurant at Somerset sells amazing tempeh burgers! I love this place.

[Lisafuller]

I pair it with literally anything I can find in my fridge - couscous/millet/sweet potatoes, snow peas/capsicum/broccoli etc...
Also, Green BA restaurant at Somerset sells amazing tempeh burgers! I love this place.

I see! Maybe I’ll try it with quinoa, I’ve got some in the cabinet that I’ve yet to use. Will take note of Green BA. Anything else good to try there? Currently I go to Hans Im Gluck at Somerset if I’m craving a good vegetarian burger.

[nelyanne]

I pair it with literally anything I can find in my fridge - couscous/millet/sweet potatoes, snow peas/capsicum/broccoli etc...
Also, Green BA restaurant at Somerset sells amazing tempeh burgers! I love this place.

I see! Maybe I’ll try it with quinoa, I’ve got some in the cabinet that I’ve yet to use. Will take note of Green BA. Anything else good to try there? Currently I go to Hans Im Gluck at Somerset if I’m craving a good vegetarian burger.

I think I only tried burgers at Green BA, so can't recommend anything else... Next time I would try their claypot dishes.
Another good vegetarian place in Somerset is The Kind Bowl, they serve Vietnamese stuff.

[malcontent]

I’m not vegetarian but I don’t miss meat when it’s Indian vegetarian. My favorite is anything with nice big chunks of paneer! It’s nothing like western cottage cheese, paneer is added to dishes like squares of tofu, but denser & tastier… I could eat that all day!

[smoulder]

I’m not vegetarian but I don’t miss meat when it’s Indian vegetarian. My favorite is anything with nice big chunks of paneer! It’s nothing like western cottage cheese, paneer is added to dishes like squares of tofu, but denser & tastier… I could eat that all day!

Seeing that you are into DIY (from the other thread on food), you should probably give home made paneer a shot. The good freshly made stuff is soft and silky smooth in texture unlike the ready made stuff you get in supermarkets. The texture is similar to silky tofu but the taste is different obviously. You don't get it anywhere in Singapore or at least not that I'm aware of.

[Lisafuller]

I pair it with literally anything I can find in my fridge - couscous/millet/sweet potatoes, snow peas/capsicum/broccoli etc...
Also, Green BA restaurant at Somerset sells amazing tempeh burgers! I love this place.

I see! Maybe I’ll try it with quinoa, I’ve got some in the cabinet that I’ve yet to use. Will take note of Green BA. Anything else good to try there? Currently I go to Hans Im Gluck at Somerset if I’m craving a good vegetarian burger.

I think I only tried burgers at Green BA, so can't recommend anything else... Next time I would try their claypot dishes.
Another good vegetarian place in Somerset is The Kind Bowl, they serve Vietnamese stuff.

Ooh! I’m in the area often but have never been to The Kind Bowl, I usually go to Haakon if I’m in Somerset.

[Lisafuller]

I’m not vegetarian but I don’t miss meat when it’s Indian vegetarian. My favorite is anything with nice big chunks of paneer! It’s nothing like western cottage cheese, paneer is added to dishes like squares of tofu, but denser & tastier… I could eat that all day!

I’m not sure I’ve ever tried paneer, does it taste like cheese at all? Or is it more of a texture thing.