Vegan Birria

Instructions

1. Rehydrate the soy curls by covering them in some water for about 10 minutes. Then, strain your soy curls, and using your bare hands, squeeze out the excess water. You want them to be as dry as possible. Set aside.
2. Cut off the stems and de-seed the dried chiles. You don't need to worry about every seed, just get out as many as you can. Add the chiles to a cold, dry pan, then set the heat to medium and toast the chiles for about 5 minutes. Make sure they don't burn, a little charring is okay, but don't let them get too scorched. They should start to get aromatic and if you feel the urge to sneeze that's a good cue that they are good.
3. Add enough water to cover the chiles to the pan, and then bring to a light boil. Then, kill the heat and cover the pan to let them steep.
4. In another cold, dry pan, add the cinammon stick, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, cumin seeds and bay leaves. Toast them over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant and toasted. Remove from heat and then add them to a spice grinder along with the allspice, cloves and Mexican oregano and grind until it's a fine powder.
5. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil and then saute the chopped onion for about 6 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic cloves and toast for a minute or so. Then add the ground spice mix and stir to combine and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and sauce, and break up the tomatoes. Add in the diced chipotle in adobo and stir to combine, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add the onion, garlic, tomato mixture to a high speed blender along with the softened chiles and about 1 cup of the steeping liquid. Blend until smooth. You can strain this mixture to make it even smoother if you wish (I didn't). Add this mixture to a large dutch oven along with the ingredients for the Consomé and bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer.
7. Add the rehydrated soy curls to the consomé and simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Salt to taste (I used like 1/2 tsp).
8. Separate the consomé from the birria meat with a slotted spoon or large strainer and bowl.
9. Serve immediately as you wish! There will be a lot of leftovers, you can make quesa tacos (method below), or a torta, grilled cheese, a traditional plate with rice and beans, anything your heart desires!
10. ENJOY!

Quesa Taco Method

1. Dip a (sturdy) corn tortilla into the consome and coat thoroughly. Then add it to a griddle or pan over medium heat. Next add enough vegan mozzarella to coat the tortilla. On one half, pile up as much of the vegan birria as you'd like. Then fold the tortilla like a quesadilla and grill on both sides until it's slightly crispy and the cheese is melted. Dip it in some more of the consomé and bask in the glory of the greatest taco you've ever made!