Soak the soy curls in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain well.
Sauté the soy curls in a pan with olive oil and seasoning.
Butler Soy Curls - A Vegan Chicken Alternative
When I was a teenager, a friend of the family took us to a fancy French restaurant in Manhattan named Le Veau D'or. I believe it's still there. Soon there appeared a frog's leg on my plate. Though I was assured that it "tasted like chicken", I didn't eat it.
Many years later while on a business trip in Hong Kong, I was presented with rattlesnake soup. The person I was with assured me that it "tasted like chicken". I wondered how the poor chicken became the "gold standard" for something that tastes good.
Well I finally found something that I feel really good about eating that does "taste like chicken". It's a new vegan product from Butler Foods called, "Soy Curls". I saw them on the menu at the Blossoming Lotus restaurant in Portland but I didn't taste them until a few weeks ago at a vegan pot luck. I thought they were amazing and immediately ordered a case from Butler foods. I've been experimenting with them ever since. There is no limit to how you can use this delicious product. I suspect you'll be seeing a lot of recipes in the future from me using soy curls.
Unlike Other Vegan Fake Meat
Many vegan fake meat products are made from highly processed vegetable protein and many contain wheat gluten. I've never been a big fan of fake meat. But soy curls are made from whole soy beans and appear to be minimally processed. Every ounce of soy curls provides you with 10 grams of heart healthy, breast cancer fighting soy protein from non-GMO soybeans grown without chemical pesticides. There's a list of places to buy soy curls on the Butler website or you can buy them online from Butler foods.
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Vegan Chicken Fajitas with Fresh Peach Salsa
[makes 8 servings]
For the Peach Salsa
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cups fresh peaches, peeled and diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt and cayenne pepper to taste
For the Fajitas
One 8 ounce package of soy curls
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce (I prefer Bragg's)
4 tablespoons Red Star nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
8 of your favorite tortillas
Make the peach salsa by combining all of the above salsa ingredients and gently tossing. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Set aside.
Place the soy curls in a bowl and cover with hot water for 10 minutes.
After they rehydrate, drain them very well. Return them to the bowl and mix well the Bragg's liquid aminos.
In a different small bowl, combine nutritional yeast, chili powder and garlic powder. Set aside.
Heat oil and sauté the soy curls sprinkling them with the nutritional yeast mixture. Cook until golden (about 5 minutes) and remove from heat.
Assemble the fajitas by placing 1/8 of the soy curls and peach salsa on a heated tortilla. Serve immediately.
Per serving of fajita without the tortilla or salsa:149.8 calories, 8.3 g of fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 12.6 g protein, 7.3 g carbohydrates and 4.3 g of fiber.
Per serving of peach salsa: 53 calories, 2.6 g fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.4 g protein, 6.2 g carbohydrates and 2.1 g of fiber.
