Support NeoGAF

[Kinitari]

Next up is a mock of this

Shit like that upsets me, because you know NO one ate that. That could feed me for weeks! Or at least 2 days. Better hope that didn't go in the trash.

 

[pizzaguysrevenge]

Shit like that upsets me, because you know NO one ate that. That could feed me for weeks! Or at least 2 days. Better hope that didn't go in the trash.

They did eat that.

http://supersizedmeals.com/food/article.php/20060125050438458

Don't assume shit, yo.

 

[CTLance]

so many great ways to eat vegetarian food, but this is not one of them.

I dunno, man. I can't live without eating meat. If I can trick myself into eating a wee bit less meat I consider it a good thing.

Sure, "dedicated" veggie food is awesome as well. Both approaches are valid IMHO.

 

[Kinitari]

They did eat that.

http://supersizedmeals.com/food/article.php/20060125050438458

Don't assume shit, yo.

I salute them. Except that person who barfed, be a man!

 

[RiZ III]

Any recommendations for restaurants in Chicago area with this stuff?

 

[beelzebozo]

I dunno, man. I can't live without eating meat. If I can trick myself into eating a wee bit less meat I consider it a good thing.

Sure, "dedicated" veggie food is awesome as well. Both approaches are valid IMHO.

i eat tons of meat. i just like tons of vegetarian dishes, too, and i think rather than "tricking" myself i should just enjoy dishes that highlight what's so wonderful about vegetables, fruits, and legumes in the first place.

to wit: chili con carne is great, but vegetarian chili with tons of beans, chiles, corn, or whatever other awesome mexican vegetables you can throw at it is superb. why would you mess with it by tossing in some phony baloney tofu? it just seems disingenuous (on a culinary level), and speaks of desperation. like, "oh god, how i miss meat"

 

[Great King Bowser]

My mum goes Buddhist temple and those monks have perfected this mock meat. Tastes pretty good whenever she brings me food home.

 

[BorkBork]

yeah, i do like bean sweets. i mostly only know japanese ones, what are chinese ones like?

I grew up around a lot of this stuff, but I never know the english names for it. We used to buy these weird desserts on sticks around all the vendors in town, it was great. There's generally a lot of use of red bean, lotus seeds, and tapioca starch. One I had at the buddhist temple was I think called a crystalline cake, it's clear with a bit of a red bean filling inside. Another one that was excellent was one with yellow soy beans in coconut cake with a jello consistency. Killer texture contrast. Like I said, I hate anything that's overly sweet, and those struck a good balance.

 

[thirty]

Any recommendations for restaurants in Chicago area with this stuff?

yelp is your friend. just look up yelp chicago vegan.

 

[Natetan]

i eat tons of meat. i just like tons of vegetarian dishes, too, and i think rather than "tricking" myself i should just enjoy dishes that highlight what's so wonderful about vegetables, fruits, and legumes in the first place.

to wit: chili con carne is great, but vegetarian chili with tons of beans, chiles, corn, or whatever other awesome mexican vegetables you can throw at it is superb. why would you mess with it by tossing in some phony baloney tofu? it just seems disingenuous (on a culinary level), and speaks of desperation. like, "oh god, how i miss meat"

well there are social setitngs where you don't want to have your dietary circumstances on display. when you have relatives over and there's a bbq, its a lot easier to throw something burger/wiener looking than going about some special food something while people look confused or shake their head.

i actually think gluten burger/tvp does a pretty good job of substituting ground meats in spicy dishes like chili and tacos. and even mapo dofu, filling for pot stickers (gyoza) and other chinese dishes. if you add a heavy oil and add seasoning like usual, i dont really think most people would notice the difference or really care if you told them later. I make gluten burger tacos sometimes mostly because i like the spice combinations you get in tacos, and don't really like black beans or whatever as a substitute (beans make me very gassy -_-)

I grew up around a lot of this stuff, but I never know the english names for it. We used to buy these weird desserts on sticks around all the vendors in town, it was great. There's generally a lot of use of red bean, lotus seeds, and tapioca starch. One I had at the buddhist temple was I think called a crystalline cake, it's clear with a bit of a red bean filling inside. Another one that was excellent was one with yellow soy beans in coconut cake with a jello consistency. Killer texture contrast. Like I said, I hate anything that's overly sweet, and those struck a good balance.

wow! those sound really interesting. things you describe sound like dango to me, are they similar?

i agree that bean sweets can be just the right sweetness. although i find red bean paste (anko) sweets can be a bit overly sweet. the red bean jelly sticks (yokan) can be a little too sweet for me...

 

[Technosteve]

too much soy causes your estrogen levels to increase which is correlated with cancer.

 

[BorkBork]

wow! those sound really interesting. things you describe sound like dango to me, are they similar?

i agree that bean sweets can be just the right sweetness. although i find red bean paste (anko) sweets can be a bit overly sweet. the red bean jelly sticks (yokan) can be a little too sweet for me...

Not quite as chewy and each cake is a little bit bigger, more like mini mooncakes

 

[Zyzyxxz]

My mum goes Buddhist temple and those monks have perfected this mock meat. Tastes pretty good whenever she brings me food home.

dam right they did!

If I wasn't Chinese I would have never considered being vegetarian a possibility because after all I've seen I know that Asians have mastered vegetarian cooking for centuries.

Still I like my meats and do dab into vegetarian foods once in a while to try but I'm not gonna hold back my urge to eat meat because I feel as a species we have the natural right to consume any other creature we want (so long its not endangered)

 

[permutated]

There's a great Chinese place in Oakland called the 'Great Wall' on College avenue, and they only serve Mock Vegan Meats.

Really fucking great place, some of the best Chinese I've ever had. Period. And no, I'm not Vegan or Vegetarian.

 

[iamaustrian]

you guys try this before? i've eaten at a chinese place like this, gonna try a vietnamese place this friday night. crazy shit they can do with tofu these days; shape, texture, and flavor close to the real thing.

too bad they put so much shit in it to make it so. They are (most of the time) filled with tons of artificial flavors, dozens of E numbers etc.
we were with a vegan band on tour and they had to eat things(provided by the concert organizer) i wouldn't even give to my worst enemy. I remember some soja-yoghurt....omg OMG

Vegan food producers should stop imitating "bad"-food and concentrate making their food taste better or accentuate the unique natural flavor of vegan food.

 

[Mudkips]

As a convert-vegan, the range of flavours they can produce with Tofu and Quorn is amazing. Plus it is:

a) Cheaper
b) MUCH less fat
c) Healthier
d) Can be cooked straight from frozen
e) Harms no animals whatsoever.

Much better than meat, and just as tasty and versatile. Some of us just don't like the texture, feel and origin of meat. Or will this be another area of closed-midedness of Gaf?:lol

Sigh, let's get started, then:

a) What? Not that I've seen.
b) Yup. But there's nothing inherently wrong with fat. Also you get no complete proteins.
c) Not really. Meat does not make you unhealthy. Excessive anything does, and a lack of other things does. Look at all the chemicals in your soy products. Delicious estrogens means delicious cancers.
d) So can many meats in many different methods of cooking.
e) :lol what about all the bugs and rodents (including cute cuddly bunnies) and birds killed off by the chemicals, the thresher, in the rendering plants, etc.?

You can be vegetarian/vegan all you want. Good for you.

Just don't:
Spew uninformed bullshit talking points about the health benefits
Believe that you're saving animals
Expect your friends to invite you out to eat

Humans are supposed to eat meat. It's how we're built. We're supposed to eat basically everything.
If you want to be healthy, eat a balanced diet, including meats (and avoid hormones and other chemicals wherever you can).
If you want to help animals, buy free range, hormone free, etc.

Spoiler

I'm a level 5 vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.

 

[siddx]

I had a vegan friend so whenever we hung out we would have to eat at a vegan restaurant that did this kind of stuff. I thought it was a piss poor attempt at replicating the brilliance that is tasty animal flesh. If she wasn't a good looking female I would never have done bothered to try it.

Not to mention it cost an arm and a leg for barely any food.

 

[Boombloxer]

Sigh, let's get started, then:

a) What? Not that I've seen.
b) Yup. But there's nothing inherently wrong with fat. Also you get no complete proteins.
c) Not really. Meat does not make you unhealthy. Excessive anything does, and a lack of other things does. Look at all the chemicals in your soy products. Delicious estrogens means delicious cancers.
d) So can many meats in many different methods of cooking.
e) :lol what about all the bugs and rodents (including cute cuddly bunnies) and birds killed off by the chemicals, the thresher, in the rendering plants, etc.?

You can be vegetarian/vegan all you want. Good for you.

Just don't:
Spew uninformed bullshit talking points about the health benefits
Believe that you're saving animals
Expect your friends to invite you out to eat

Humans are supposed to eat meat. It's how we're built. We're supposed to eat basically everything.
If you want to be healthy, eat a balanced diet, including meats (and avoid hormones and other chemicals wherever you can).
If you want to help animals, buy free range, hormone free, etc.

Spoiler

I'm a level 5 vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.

Past religion, health is another thing, you can be perfectly healthy just being vegetarian--I know, I didn't have any meat until I was in my mid-20's. Didn't really care for it.

The whole "humans are supposed to meat" to be healthy is pretty out-dated.

Even more so that your friends won't invite you out to eat (they aren't actually your friends in that case)--most places aren't as diverse as Cali, but you can get vegetarian hot dogs on the street and at Pink's, or go buy them. I'd still like some Grillers from aburger place here though.

 

[blame space]

I don't really get all the misunderstanding here.

I'm a vegetarian. I'm a vegetarian for ethical reasons. I think it's wrong to eat meat. However, I also think meat tastes good. Therefore, I eat cruelty-free meat substitutes that taste like the real thing. There are thousands of vegetarians like me, keeping companies like Morningstar Farms in business.

Is it really that hard to understand?

B-b-but...

 

[Jugendstil]

Asian cuisines definitely have the monopoly on creative meat substitutes. Meat substitutes are weird - some of them are delicious, but some are completely bizarre and unappetizing. I generally avoid things like vegetarian deli-slices - I just don't see the point in deluding myself. Things like a vegetarian buffalo chicken sandwich? I mean, why even bother? I've made the choice to limit the amount and variety of meat I eat. I really don't feel the need to pretend I'm eating a piece of processed lunch meat. I still eat fish and lean meat like turkey, but I don't feel like I'm missing out on something or my meal is incomplete if I don't have meat as part of it.

That being said, there are varities of tofu dogs and garden burgers that I like a lot. My favorite fake meat junk food is Trader Joe's Vegetarian Corn Dogs. They are surprisingly delicious and really good for when you're too lazy to make a real meal.

 

[dankir]

There's a vegan thai place here in Montreal thats fucking amazing. The texture and taste of the faux chicken / beef / duck tofu is exactly like the real thing.


If your ever in Montreal make sure you eat at ChuChai, so yummy.

 

[clockpunk]

Sigh, let's get started, then:

a) What? Not that I've seen.
b) Yup. But there's nothing inherently wrong with fat. Also you get no complete proteins.
c) Not really. Meat does not make you unhealthy. Excessive anything does, and a lack of other things does. Look at all the chemicals in your soy products. Delicious estrogens means delicious cancers.
d) So can many meats in many different methods of cooking.
e) :lol what about all the bugs and rodents (including cute cuddly bunnies) and birds killed off by the chemicals, the thresher, in the rendering plants, etc.?

You can be vegetarian/vegan all you want. Good for you.

Just don't:
Spew uninformed bullshit talking points about the health benefits
Believe that you're saving animals
Expect your friends to invite you out to eat

Humans are supposed to eat meat. It's how we're built. We're supposed to eat basically everything.
If you want to be healthy, eat a balanced diet, including meats (and avoid hormones and other chemicals wherever you can).
If you want to help animals, buy free range, hormone free, etc.

Spoiler

I'm a level 5 vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.

EDIT: A troglodyte like you isn't even worth a reply, appart from to point out that this is the sort of closed-mindedness I expected from the start of this thread.

 

[Mudkips]

How am I closed minded?

The only closed minded people here are the ones saying meat is unhealthy.
It's not.

 

[beelzebozo]

that's just, like, your opinion man. when i eat meat i get real real gassy, and my girlfriend says my aura is all out of wack

 

[etiolate]

Let's talk about the two things that vegetarian/vegans never talk about, even though it has an impact on the others around them.


1. SOY FARTS

You may know this smell, its that strange and silent but deadly scent that graciously glides through your local hippie coffee shop, vegetarian restaurant or, if you live with the veggie-inclined, your home.

Soys are beans y'all. Tofu and Soy Milk diets are bean heavy. Vegetarians and Vegans fart. A lot. It's air pollution of the most impolite kind.

But there is no apologies! No admittance! Hey, you don't contribute ot the slaughtering of animals. Does that mean you get a free pass on being stinky? No!

2. VEGGIE DUMPS

There are certain cell walls which your stomach and body do not break down well. This is why you should always chew your corn well. This is why you have corn and nuts in your poop. Now imagine a diet full of these substances. Now imagine pushing that out your sphincter. Now imagine... the smell.

Nothing quite clears out a household like a veggie dump. These backed up gastral anomalies are not animal friendly. Good lord. The family dog will whine for shame.

The veggie goes in the bathroom, an hour later, the veggie comes out, finally emptied. A second later the death chill of vegetarian cuisine destruction lingers out into your closed abode.


SO VEG PEOPLE. For the love of lavender, use some high fiber and drink mucho tea. Keep flushing that system. Get that stink out. Be polite to your fellow kind.

Thank you

 

[SolarPowered]

I've already favorited a handful of wok stir-fry videos on youtube, and I'm going to order a 16" wok with the utensil so that I can learn to stir-ry. There are so many different recipes with little damaging oils, and lots of vegetables, so I'm pretty excited.

I just wanted to let you know that this thread motivated me.

 

[BorkBork]

Let's talk about the two things that vegetarian/vegans never talk about, even though it has an impact on the others around them.


1. SOY FARTS

You may know this smell, its that strange and silent but deadly scent that graciously glides through your local hippie coffee shop, vegetarian restaurant or, if you live with the veggie-inclined, your home.

Soys are beans y'all. Tofu and Soy Milk diets are bean heavy. Vegetarians and Vegans fart. A lot. It's air pollution of the most impolite kind.

But there is no apologies! No admittance! Hey, you don't contribute ot the slaughtering of animals. Does that mean you get a free pass on being stinky? No!

2. VEGGIE DUMPS

There are certain cell walls which your stomach and body do not break down well. This is why you should always chew your corn well. This is why you have corn and nuts in your poop. Now imagine a diet full of these substances. Now imagine pushing that out your sphincter. Now imagine... the smell.

Nothing quite clears out a household like a veggie dump. These backed up gastral anomalies are not animal friendly. Good lord. The family dog will whine for shame.

The veggie goes in the bathroom, an hour later, the veggie comes out, finally emptied. A second later the death chill of vegetarian cuisine destruction lingers out into your closed abode.


SO VEG PEOPLE. For the love of lavender, use some high fiber and drink mucho tea. Keep flushing that system. Get that stink out. Be polite to your fellow kind.

Thank you

The second one doesn't make any sense. Everyone knows lion poop smells a helluva worse than a cow patty.

 

[Timedog]

HEY GUYS WATCH ME PRETEND I'M EATING AN ANIMAL EVEN THOUGH I THINK EATING ANIMALS IS WRONG!

I wonder what people would say if I opened a human baby meat flavored tofu establishment?

 

[Zyzyxxz]

The second one doesn't make any sense. Everyone knows lion poop smells a helluva worse than a cow patty.

I don't know that, I'll let you know if it does next time I see a lion I'll wait for him to shit. Also cow shit smells pretty bad. I know my family's farm use to have oxen.

Even more so that your friends won't invite you out to eat (they aren't actually your friends in that case)--most places aren't as diverse as Cali, but you can get vegetarian hot dogs on the street and at Pink's, or go buy them. I'd still like some Grillers from aburger place here though.

Bullshit, I had a friend who was vegetarian, eating with him was such a pain in the ass because it the place had to have fries/potatoes/vege burgers/pasta.

I live in Cali and even sometimes there are some places I just can't go with him. Does that mean I'm not his friend? No I consider him my best friend but I'm not gonna let him get in the way of my gastronomical enjoyments, he can either sit there and watch me or I'll just not call him up.

 

[nakedsushi]

I'm not veg*n, but I've gone to lots of mock meat restaurants just living in LA. I don't see them as replacements to meat because to me, they have a completely different taste, but damn, some of them do taste good. I don't eat mock meat often though because it scares me in a soylent green kinda way.

One of my favorite places is Vin Loi in the valley. Delicious viet noodle soups. Probably chocked full of MSG, but no meat!

Last weekend, went to one in Garden Grove and had seriously, the BEST vegan pho I've ever had. It in no way compares to real deal, but it's the best non-meat pho I've tasted. The broth was just so perfectly spiced without the beef flavor.

At home, if I need a meat substitute, I'll usually use tofu, wheat gluten, or mushrooms just because it seems more natural than some weirdly packaged mock meat.

 

[blame space]

HEY GUYS WATCH ME PRETEND I'M EATING AN ANIMAL EVEN THOUGH I THINK EATING ANIMALS IS WRONG!

I wonder what people would say if I opened a human baby meat flavored tofu establishment?

No one's "pretending" they're eating an animal. That's the whole point.

I'm not even going to address your second "point". Ugh.

 

[KHarvey16]

You are what you eat!

 

[Timedog]

No one's "pretending" they're eating an animal. That's the whole point.

I'm not even going to address your second "point". Ugh.

LOL, don't even respond then.

 

[blame space]

LOL, don't even respond then.

:lol Do you equate eating animals to eating babies?

 

[Timedog]

:lol Do you equate eating animals to eating babies?

You haven't met the vegans I've met then.

 

[thirty]

I'm not veg*n, but I've gone to lots of mock meat restaurants just living in LA. I don't see them as replacements to meat because to me, they have a completely different taste, but damn, some of them do taste good. I don't eat mock meat often though because it scares me in a soylent green kinda way.

One of my favorite places is Vin Loi in the valley. Delicious viet noodle soups. Probably chocked full of MSG, but no meat!

Last weekend, went to one in Garden Grove and had seriously, the BEST vegan pho I've ever had. It in no way compares to real deal, but it's the best non-meat pho I've tasted. The broth was just so perfectly spiced without the beef flavor.

At home, if I need a meat substitute, I'll usually use tofu, wheat gluten, or mushrooms just because it seems more natural than some weirdly packaged mock meat.

funny, this thread really is about Vinh Loi. i'll be going there this Friday so i decided to post about it. their website is where the pics are from. they also claim NO MSG which is lovely for me, as i am sensitive to it.

 

[BobTheFork]

Mock meat lovers, I give you...

Meatless riblets from Garder Burger. I bought a few packs when they were on sale last week. I think they are damned good. I had a pair of them with a baked potato and it was great. Made a good sandwich too. They come in a sealed pouch so I just put them in to boiling water until they was really hot and then shook the pouch to get the sauce on there well.


Hey look a review - http://www.vegfamily.com/product-reviews/garden-burger-meatless-riblets.htm

 

[RiskyChris]

You haven't met the vegans I've met then.

Oh man tell me about the asshole vegans you know.

 

[Timedog]

Oh man tell me about the asshole vegans you know.

Half my friends are vegans. Some of them claim that killing animals is worse than killing an adult human because "we're supposed to protect them", and "they're helpless". It's such bullshit.

 

[RiskyChris]

Half my friends are vegans. Some of them claim that killing animals is worse than killing an adult human because "we're supposed to protect them", and "they're helpless". It's such bullshit.

Adult human is likely complicit in the slaughter of animals so I see the logic.

 

[HUELEN10]

I actually tried some fake bacon (both turkey & veggie) today, and if it tastes anything like real bacon, which they told me it does, I don't know how it's so popular. It tastes like if grease had meat flavor (and this was a lean fake product!), and was then fried.

So I'm off fake bacon forever. Fake burgers are delicious though, especially the mushroom kind. I also love that ravioli with fake veggie meat inside, so good!

 

[Davidion]

Fake meat can be quite delicious, though I'll usually stick with the real stuff, natch.


Now fake coffee, that's the shit right there.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Half my friends are vegans. Some of them claim that killing animals is worse than killing an adult human because "we're supposed to protect them", and "they're helpless". It's such bullshit.

ugh. IMO the worst kind of vegan. I'm all against animal cruelty and all but I will never place an animal's life above any human, unless the person was a real monster.

I don't see why we have this moral dilemma over whether its right to eat animals since no other creature in nature ponders this.

 

[hteng]

it's always a good thing to have a balanced diet. I eat meat and vege, I will always have more vege than meat though because vege makes digestion easier.

The chefs that make these fake meats have my respect though, making tofu into all these kinds of stuff is not easy and they have all those creative ways to make it work.

 

[Pandaman]

Sigh, let's get started, then:
[snip]

Spoiler

I'm a level 5 vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.

You know, I'm really starting to like you.

 

[Rorschach]

As a convert-vegan, the range of flavours they can produce with Tofu and Quorn is amazing. Plus it is:

a) Cheaper
b) MUCH less fat
c) Healthier
d) Can be cooked straight from frozen
e) Harms no animals whatsoever.

Much better than meat, and just as tasty and versatile. Some of us just don't like the texture, feel and origin of meat. Or will this be another area of closed-midedness of Gaf?:lol

Except the ones whose homes are destroyed/burned to clear a path to grow the soy. Your mere existence as a consumer will harm animals, sorry.

 

[Night_Trekker]

One of my friends told me about a place she ate in New York like this. It was one of the saddest things I've ever heard in my life.

But hey, but if people like it, keep giving it to them.

 

[Flo]

Sigh, let's get started, then:

a) What? Not that I've seen.
b) Yup. But there's nothing inherently wrong with fat. Also you get no complete proteins.
c) Not really. Meat does not make you unhealthy. Excessive anything does, and a lack of other things does. Look at all the chemicals in your soy products. Delicious estrogens means delicious cancers.
d) So can many meats in many different methods of cooking.
e) :lol what about all the bugs and rodents (including cute cuddly bunnies) and birds killed off by the chemicals, the thresher, in the rendering plants, etc.?

You can be vegetarian/vegan all you want. Good for you.

Just don't:
Spew uninformed bullshit talking points about the health benefits
Believe that you're saving animals
Expect your friends to invite you out to eat

Humans are supposed to eat meat. It's how we're built. We're supposed to eat basically everything.
If you want to be healthy, eat a balanced diet, including meats (and avoid hormones and other chemicals wherever you can).
If you want to help animals, buy free range, hormone free, etc.

Spoiler

I'm a level 5 vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.

You really expect that people don't invite you for something to eat (and worse; think its stupid if they do?)? That is just ridiculous!

 

[nakedsushi]

funny, this thread really is about Vinh Loi. i'll be going there this Friday so i decided to post about it. their website is where the pics are from. they also claim NO MSG which is lovely for me, as i am sensitive to it.

Oh nice! If you can handle spice, ask Kevin (the owner) for his special chili paste. It's always a pleasant surprise b/c he makes it differently each time. My favorite thing there is the House Special Seafood noodle w/ thin rice noodles like in pho. Get a pandan soymilk while you're at it to cool your tastebuds from the spice if you do end up getting the crazy chili paste.

But uh...the MSG. Although he *claims* there's no MSG, both me and the BF get SUPER thirsty right after eating there. Maybe he claims there's no "added" MSG, but man, the broth sure taste delicious enough to have tons of MSG in it. You'll also notice in the back he sells lots of veggie broth boullion cubes that have tons of MSG. Hmmm...

Don't get me wrong. I'm definitely not on the anti-MSG bandwagon. I figure, if MSG was that bad, there wouldn't be so many Chinese people alive in China, right? They use MSG as a spice there! I just think it's a wee bit deceptive to advertise your restaurant as no MSG if you're not.

Half my friends are vegans. Some of them claim that killing animals is worse than killing an adult human because "we're supposed to protect them", and "they're helpless". It's such bullshit.

Everytime vegans or vegetarians say that, I say, "THINK OF THE VEGETABLES!!" They don't even have legs to run away with! They can't even defend themselves. They just sit in the ground till we pull them up and ravish them.

 

[Fatghost]

As a convert-vegan, the range of flavours they can produce with Tofu and Quorn is amazing. Plus it is:

a) Cheaper
b) MUCH less fat
c) Healthier
d) Can be cooked straight from frozen
e) Harms no animals whatsoever.

Much better than meat, and just as tasty and versatile. Some of us just don't like the texture, feel and origin of meat. Or will this be another area of closed-midedness of Gaf?:lol

The fact that an animal had to die to make my burger enhances the flavor for me. Yum.