Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Thank you! I really think that the trick is to marinate the bejesus out of them in something very flavorful; I also find that heating the marinade helps a lot.Agreed. They're especially good on a sandwich with spicy slaw.YES!

Mine too! How frustrating.

I find that soy curls taste the best when they're sort of salty-sweet, like the Smoky Curls recipe, or maybe doing them teriyaki-style. I say this because adding a little bit of agave/maple syrup/brown sugar/whatever sort of helps caramelize the outside of them, which gives them a scrumptious texture. But generally speaking it helps to marinate them in something other than plain water (veggie broth, or even water with a couple spoonfuls of soy sauce helps). And marinate them for twice as long as the package suggests. Then squeezing the crepe out of them with paper towels when they're draining.

So I recently ordered some soy curls from Spencers, and tried them out last night. OMG. SO FREAKING GOOD.

I made a marinade that I always used for fajitas (usually seitan), based on a taco recipe in Viva Vegan:
1 cup mexican beer
3 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
Lots of cumin, mexican oregano, chilli powder, and a bunch of lime juice.

I boiled it, then added half a package of soy curls,turned off the heat, let sit for about 1/2 an hour. Then drained and squeezed out all the sauce. I reserved the marinade. Cooked the soy curls in a non-stick pan until crispy, took out of pan, cooked some onions and peppers in oil, then added back the curls + marinade. Cooked it all down, added some more lime juice and they were THE MOST AWESOME FAJITAS EVER.

My omni partner was ok with them. he was not huge on the texture, but said he liked them. I really like the texture. I don't like soft foods, which is why I don't do hommade seitan too often. These had a bit of a bite to them, I liked it. And much easier (and cost comparable) to making seitan.

Going to grab some BBQ sauce from the store (or make some) and try cooking them like that and putting on a baked potato later this week. I am very happy I found a new protein that is cheap and easy to cook.

I don't really like them except fried. They are SOOOOOO good fried. I basically soak them and then dredge them in my flour seasonings mixture and then fry. They are also pretty okay when smothered, which is basically dredging in flour seasoning and lightly frying in a tiny bit of oil and then adding water until a thick gravy forms. Not the most healthy meals, but tasty ones.

I made a bunch of soy curls this week by soaking them, and then sauteing them quickly with some store-bought taco seasoning mix for the fastest, easiest taco night ever. I liked it so much, I made it again the next night.

I really like them in the recipe from the ppk blog for tofu paprikas, but substitute the soy curls. Using the aforementioned soaking in broth, then squeezing all the liquid out techniques, this is especially delicious.

I made soy curls last night again! so good. Seriously, these are my new favorite food.

I rehydrated them in some veggie broth with lots of pepper and garlic salt, a bit of BBQ sauce. (boiled the stock, added spices and curls, turned off heat, sat covered for ~30 minutes) then drained/squeezed out liquid (retained liquid)

Cooked them until crispy in a non-stick skillet with cooking spray, then added a bunch of Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce (vegan!) and some more of the liquid. Served with a baked potato and Cool Slaw.

Man, it was great. My partner (omni) was kinda weirded out the first time I made them, but they grew on him and he likes them now! We are going to make BBQ sandwiches next I think, maybe on saturday. Then maybe after that try an asian dish, maybe a 'beef' and broccoli thing.

Funny, the texture was exactly as I remember pulled pork or beef BBQ sandwiches, which I hated. But since this is soy, not meat/gristle/fat etc, I LOOOOVE it. I must be weird.

So I just opened my first bag of soy curls, got them from spencers market.
http://spencersmarket.com/invitations/zpqzfa
I soaked them in hot water with some vegetarian bullion cubes and then pressed them into a strainer to get the excess water out.
I used them as I wouldve used chicken in fajitas. They were very good and I have a girl staying with me who is an omni and she ate them and liked them too!
Next time I might try to do a smaller batch on my george foreman grill, really get a good crust on them.

I had them, very grossly, a few times...

The two tricks that made me love them:
1. Actually *simmer* them in water (with or without flavouring) until they're properly, properly soft.
2. Pop them in a colander to drain & really squeeze all of the liquid out.. then start your recipe as per normal. They won't have a strong weird taste then, and will take on other flavours beautifully.

^Very good advice! I do that to my soy curls, too.


I like making soy curls and potatoes with gravy or soy curl adobo (a Filipino dish) with rice.

I really should try making fajitas with them soon...

Yep, I do this too! I try to let them soak for about 30 minutes as well. but even 10 will work. Just add lots of spices.

Oh, I tried this recipe last week
http://veganyumyum.com/2008/05/sesame-s ... nd-quinoa/

I soaked in hot veggie broth with a bit of tamari and sesame oil in there.

It was really really REALLY good. Omni partner loved it. He has officially declared that he likes soy curls, and wants me to make them often.

last night i squeezed them out, fried them with earth balance and then drizzled on some franks red hot and THEN put them on a pizza with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and spinach. and daiya. it was divine.

damn, that sounds awesome! i'm totally going to try this out on pizza too - thanks, supercarrot!

no prob. (it was unclegramps' idea)

that sounds *AMAZING*!!! Great idea.

mmmm.... do you deliver?!

resurrecting this thread to ask a question......

i'm interested in the jerk seitan recipe from VwAV on page 159, i would like to sub soy curls

my concern is that after i rehydrate the soy curls and squeeze all the water/broth out, that the soy curls will just soak up all the marinade and i won't have any remaining marinade to cook with. this may be why the original recipe calls for seitan because i read somewhere that seitan doesn't suck up marinades as well as tofu since it isn't so spongy.

should i marinate the soy curls like they are seitan or should i maybe just cook the soy curls until they get nice and browned and then pour in all the marinade? of course i wouldn't be baking in the flavor if i did that....

any advice appreciated!

the flavor still gets baked in if you brown them first.

so..... rehydrate.... squeeze out all excess water/broth..... brown in skillet.... dump in marinade?

and keep cooking to then bake in the flavor.

agreed, baking in the flavor is of upmost importance. cookbook authors really need to stress that more ;)