Soy Curl Beef

Soy Curl Beef is cheap, easy, delicious as heck, and you can use it anywhere you would use store-bought vegan beef or conventional beef too!

Soy Curls were one of the first vegan meats that convinced me it would be easier than I thought to go vegan. They are super cheap, easy and versatile.

Their texture is unmatched in my opinion! They are almost like a really tender seitan, super meaty, chewy but not tough. They also take on any flavor super well too!

I’ve worked with them on many recipes, but I’ve never made a stand alone beef (or chicken which will be coming soon!) recipe that can be used in a wider application, hence this recipe!

what are soy curls?

While Soy Curls are a specific product, the concept behind them is not new. It’s essentially just dehydrated soy, that’s it! TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) is a similar product, and there are variations of it around the world. Sometimes they are called Soya Chunks too.

The ones I use are made by Butler Foods. You can get it directly from them or on Amazon. But I suggest getting them direct from Butler Foods as it’s way cheaper. This post isn’t sponsored by the way, I just love Soy Curls!

why you’ll love soy curl beef

In a nutshell it’s…

• EASY TO MAKE
• AFFORDABLE
• VERSATILE
• CUSTOMIZABLE
• NUTRITIOUS
• AND DELICIOUS!

One of the first things I ever made with Soy Curls was a Philly Cheesesteak, and I’m happy to say that the most recent one I made was my favorite one yet!

You can also make some Broccoli Beef or Beefless Burgundy, the list goes on!

INGREDIENTS FOR soy curl BEEF

Besides Soy Curls, all we need are a few ingredients to infuse some flavor!

seasonings / marinade

For the seasoning and marinade, we are packing a lot of UMAMI with a variety of sources.

The marinade employs some of my favorites to make things beefy, such as Beefless Broth, Mushroom Seasoning, Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, and Gravy Master.

You can sub out most of these however! You can use veggie broth instead of the beefless broth. Use 1 tsp of Miso Paste per 1 Tbsp of Mushroom Seasoning (so 2 tsp for the recipe below). Steak Sauce instead of Worcestershire, and the Gravy Master is mostly for color, so you can skip it if you like.

And while this does taste good as is, I tried to leave it neutral flavored enough so you could customize it to whatever dish you want to make.

Add some cumin and oregano for something Mexican, or Italian Seasoning for something…well Italian! You get the idea! Adding some onion and garlic powder, and some smoked paprika is a great move too!

how to make soy curl beef

This couldn’t be easier! First rehydrate the soy curls in some water for about 10 minutes.

While the soy curls rehydrate, make the marinade by combining all the ingredients.

Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the rehydrated soy curls.

Add the soy curls to a pan over medium heat. Pour the marinade over and then reduce the marinade until most of it is absorbed.

Taste and adjust for seasoning. Your Soy Curl Beef is ready to eat! Enjoy as you wish! You can use it in just about any application you would use regular beef!

If you want to make it in bulk to use over the week, you can double or even triple the recipe. A single recipe will give you about 1 1/2 pounds of vegan beef.

Use this recipe to make these

• Beef Burgundy
• Philly Cheesesteak
• Beef Stroganoff
• Italian Beef

tips for cooking soy curls

• Rehydrate the soy curls for at least 10 – 15 minutes. I have found that using cold, warm or hot water doesn’t make a noticeable difference.
• Using broth will infuse a light amount of flavor into the soy curls. This is good for something milder in flavor like chicken. However for something like a Soy Curl Beef, I find that reducing them down in broth will render them even more flavorful.
• No matter what you hydrate them in, you’ll want to SQUEEZE out as much of that liquid as possible.
• You can also further dry them out by toasting them in a dry pan to cook out even more of the moisture. This should help remove the aftertaste as well as any mushiness. It should yield a chewy soy curl that’s still juicy.

Storage

Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 3 – 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. If freezing, let them cool down completely before adding to a freezer safe container.

You can even flash freeze them on a baking sheet for a couple hours before adding to a container if you want to be sure to avoid any moisture getting trapped and frozen in the container.

Handy DAndy Video here!

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