Whether you have sworn off eating animals or are forever drawn to the smell of crackling bacon, we all have friends that are either vegetarian or vegan. You know the scenario, you are having a BBQ and your friend Paul who is a vegetarian is coming so you run out and get some tofu hot dogs or veggie patties from the supermarket (note: your friend might not be named Paul). This time try making them yourself!  It is easy, quick and generally better than what you would find at the store.

With these easy steps you will be able to wow your herbivore friends and enjoy these delicious patties yourself.  I will also throw in some tips to make this recipe fully vegan and gluten free.

Now to start with the ingredients.

for this recipe we will need:

• 4 large portobello mushrooms (300g or 10 oz)
• 2 medium sized onions (300g or 10oz)
• 500 ml or about 2 cups of TVP
• 150 ml or 3/4 cup of soy sauce
• 100 ml gochujang (Korean chili paste)
• 300 ml or 1 1/4 cup water
• 3 eggs
• 100 or 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

(Vegan version: Substitute the egg for 1 mashed up banana)

If you have never used TVP before it is a great meat alternative product that comes in a dried form and can be found at most grocery stored in the health food sections. TVP which stands for textured vegetable protein is usually made by processing high (50%) soy protein or soy flour then extruding it into various shapes and sizes though it can also be made from cotton seeds, wheat, and oats.

The most common version you will find is the granulated style which is what we will be using for this recipe.

Now the first step in this recipe is simply chopping up the onion into small diced pieces.

Next we will do the same with the portobello mushrooms. Start by slicing it horizontally into large disc-like pieces.

Next cut across to make strips or batonette.

Finally slice it into small cubes, this cut is also called bruinoise.

Now start the onions in a pot with some vegetable oil on medium heat and cook till translucent, then you can add the mushrooms. Once you have added the mushrooms you are going to want to stir them in to cook them until a lot of the water in the mushroom has come out and the small cubes have reduced in size.

While the mushrooms are cooking, in a small bowl or container put the water, gochujang and soy sauce. When the mushrooms have reduced in size, stir the liquid ingredients in the pot and turn up the heat to boil. While it comes to a boil make sure to stir it well so that the gochujang evenly coats everything.

Once the pot starts to boil, turn off your burner and stir in the TVP then take it off the heat and let it cool for about an hour. It should look like the picture below:

Now let the mixture sit for an hour. Once the mixture has rested, you can preheat your oven to 400 F. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and oil it well. While the oven preheats, add the eggs and flour to the mixture. Once you add the eggs and flour, you will notice it start to get sticky. Keep on combining everything until it is a uniform sticky mixture. Use a spoon or your hands to portion out your patties. Eye it out to about a burger-sized portion. This recipe does about 8- 10 patties depending on how big you want your patties.

Tip: if you use your hands make sure to rub them with olive or vegetable oil first so the mixture does not stick

Form your patties onto the oiled parchment paper.

Put your patties in the oven and bake them for 8 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side for another 8 minutes.

Now you have some delicious veggie patties, you can enjoy them fresh from the oven or save them to grill later. If you want to have some around for when company come knocking, you can also freeze them for up to a year and take them out whenever you need. When I made the recipe this time, I portioned out 6 large patties and saved the rest of the TVP mixture to fry up with vegetable and tomato sauce the next night for a easy pasta sauce.

I hope you enjoy trying this recipe out yourself and until the next one, remember to keep it simple but full of love.

Recipe card below.