Although just an occasional non-meat eater, I am always curious to test and try various meat-replacements. I must confess that as for now, the results are less than satisfactory. Once you had once the taste of real meat, you cannot buy easily the offer of tofu or other substitutes offered instead.
Tofu is tofu, with a special texture and taste, but most often nothing to do with the real meat I have a very vivid taste memory of. My best experience so far in this respect was with seitan, which reproduced at a certain extent my meat impressions.
However, I keep myself open to more and more alternatives. When I've spotted at a local Rossmann store Jackfruit in Curry Sauce, recommended as 'the vegan alternative to meat', I hurried up to buy it and prepare a couple of hours thereafter.
The 200 gr. package includes jackfruit, a variety of coconuts - oil, extract, curry powder, orange juice concentrate, sea salt, sugar, cardamom, chilli, dried parsley. Everything is contained in a sealed poach that you only need to warm for a couple of minutes in boiling water.
I added as a side dish a portion of Jasmin rice with black sesame seeds. At the first sight, it looks like one of those plastic imitations of food you can see at Japanese restaurants. The taste is less than plastic, with a smooth mild fresh, with a taste which is rather bland, a vague reminder of some tofu. The taste of the plate was saved by the intensive curry spices, but that was all. No special taste, no similarities with meat or any other edible thing.
I am still looking for the best meat-substitutes, you know...
