FAKING THE FRY
“We are vegetarians, so let us act that way” or should we? I am referring to the consumption of imitation meat products on offer in our super markets. In South Africa our two biggest brands are Fry’s and Quorn and they produce vegetarian versions of sausages, burgers, nuggets and more. So today’s post is all about Fry’s and their range of vegan and vegetarian friendly meals.
While I was overseas I never bought these products and for some reason they never tickled my fancy as I lived with someone who was in the same vegetarian boat as myself and we would always cook fresh. But on returning to South Africa I went to a braai and decided to try Fry’s sausages and wasn’t too impressed with them. But I decided to give them another try and surprisingly a lot of their products are pretty tasty. Their traditional burgers are actually quite good and can easily passed off as a normal burger with their flavour and texture. With regards to their sausages, I have tried all they have on offer and none have gotten me to buy them a second time. Other products that I quite enjoy are their chicken-style burgers and their crumbed schnitzels, both taste very similar but the schnitzel has a much better texture as the burger kind of reminds me of Burger Kings chicken burgers. Their mince is quite stable when cooking in sauces and stews and that’s exactly what you want, as some of these meat free products swell and their texture becomes rather unpleasant.
The good news is that their products are all vegan friendly if you are that way inclined and you will be pleased to know that they are none GM products. But they do have a few ingredients in them to get the imitation meat effect right and you might have to check in case of intolerances and allergies. So should we really be buying their products and consuming them in an effort to fit in with non-vegetarians? It’s up to you to decide, for me it’s more about the comforts than fitting in with people munching away on their burgers.
THE POT LUCK TREATMENT
I recently went to dinner with friends at The Pot Luck Club and as usual I checked out their menu before hand to see if there was something that I could eat and that I would enjoy. Lo and behold there was only one none dessert dish that tickled my fancy, but when I got there one of my friends mentioned to the waiter that I was vegetarian and he said he would bring me a separate menu. I was extremely surprised as I have been to some really good restaurants in Europe including some Michelin star restaurants and I have never seen a separate menu, the closest was a Michelin star chef who knew we were coming and made us something special. So to say that I was taken a back is an understatement as I found no trace of their vegetarian menu on their site, but needless to say I was extremely impressed.
So what can I say about The Pot Luck Club? Well the design and décor are quite modern and very much reflect the current hipster/artisan trend that has swept across Cape Town. Situated in the Old Biscuit Mill on the sixth floor it has breath taking views thanks to its open plan design and panoramic widows. The service can only be described as that of the highest standards with our waiter being extremely knowledgeable about the wines on offer and of course the food that The Pot Luck Club served. Down to the most important bit, the food is served in small tapas-style portions and they describe their style of dining as a sharing experience. This style is becoming more and more common and quite honestly I prefer smaller dishes of greater variety than larger portions of the same meal. Their vegetarian options were quite good and I quite enjoyed their take on the basic bean taco, which had a rich flavour profile and a great mix of textures (I had to skip the guacamole due to allergies, but I doubt it took away anything from this dish). The dessert was an open house affair and I was quite impressed by their sweet take on the humble bunny chow, but what I really enjoyed was the Robata grilled peach with lime ricotta and almond galette.
TOFU OR NOT TOFU
Before I stopped eating meat I think I had very few encounters with with soy products and only ever once knowingly consumed tofu. But these days I am a lot more open to the thought of soy products and even the flavourless white mass that is tofu. One could describe tofu as the flavourless equivalent of cheese, as the process is fairly similar in making the the two products, but tofu takes massive slack from many as being a boring and bland product. Are people wrong for dismissing tofu as being nothing more than a substitute for meat products or that nasty white stuff only eaten by health nuts, vegans and hippies? Sure, they are entitled to their opinions, but I know for a fact that tofu is so easy to mess up and made to taste like wood vanish and it is more than likely that they had a bad experience. There is a good guide online from Oh My Veggie on the different types of tofu that are commonly found in super markets, sadly in South Africa we have to hunt a bit harder to find any variety.
The truth is that straight up tofu is pretty tasteless so make sure that you marinate your pieces of tofu in some kind of sauce or spice accordingly, I personally go for chilli, garlic, lime and soy sauce as most of my dishes are Asian styled dishes when it comes to tofu. As for cooking it, the best way to cook it in my opinion is to fry it, I find it gives you the best texture compared to other cooking methods. I have done some experimenting with stews and curries and find the tofu seems to break down too easily and becomes gunky in texture. But there are loads of recipes online for soups, stews, curries and more for you to try.
RECIPES AND GUIDES
Oh My Veggies
Greatist
BBC Food
Babble
Vegan Miam
Oh My Veggies
Greatist
BBC Food
Babble
Vegan Miam
