An Attempt At Vegan Shawarma

[RSteve]

I just finished watching Chef Michael Symon on Food Network's "Throwdown." The challenge was chicken shawarma. I'm going to use what I have on hand and make it vegan for supper tomorrow. I have three cans of vegan mock duck, I'll substitute for chicken. I made sesame tahini last week and have a base of processed great northern white beans that I'll sub for processed garbonzos to make hummus. I'll need a side of pickled vegetables, but will sub the kimchi in the fridge. Ideally, I'd have pita to accompany the shawarma, but the garlic naan I have in the freezer will have to suffice.

 

[Blackhorse]

Apparently vegan shawarma is not a topic many members are drawn to.

 

[Zeno Marx]

Love mock duck. I rinse it well before using. I don't like the oily stuff they use to can it. The same company makes some nice seitan too (assuming you're using the blue can so often found), though making it is better for obvious reasons, and it isn't very hard to make. Not sure about the white bean hummus, but why not?

 

[RSteve]

Apparently vegan shawarma is not a topic many members are drawn to.

I guess it's mostly a steak and fries crowd.

 

[DWSmith]

I have no idea what shawarma is so vegan shawarma is even further out there for me. One question I have though is why do vegetarians so often try to make a dish taste "just like x" where x is some sort of flesh?

I practiced vegetarianism for quite a while and never tried to find a vegetable product that tasted just like chicken or beef or pork or ...

I like fruits, vegetables, nuts, fungi, and berries. I didn't miss flesh foods.

I'm not criticizing but just asking because I never understood it.

 

[Brewdude]

For me as a vegetarian of going on 40 years, I have no opposition to vegetarian foods made to resemble a meat product. As an example, I quite like The Beyond Burger and Breakfast sausage. Some may see that as some sort of ideological conflict, but I was never motivated by ideology, philosophy, moral, ethical, environmental, ecological, or religious concerns. Only a personal choice.


Cheers,

RR

 

[RSteve]

I love a good burger. I ate meat for most of my life, even though I knew that a meat based diet largely led to my father's early death. His arteries were plugged. My LDL was very high, but, once I cut out the meat, it plunged to low normal. Now, with Impossible Burger, Impossible Sausage, Beyond Burger, and Mock Duck, etc. I can enjoy almost all the meat dishes I enjoy, but without the detrimental health issue.