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Do you know how much fun it is to be able to make delicious recipes without meat? Well, it’s a lot of fun, and it makes you feel like exploring more. After watching Anthony Bourdain’s adventures over the years I learned a lot more about American culture about food and cuisine, and some things I wanted to try for myself!
Today it’s Sloppy Joe’s turn, and because my healthy January turned into a permanent thing, I prepared it with soy chunks of course. It’s actually a meat burger, right? Well believe me that it is really delicious to eat this! Everyone at the table really enjoyed it a lot. Everything was completely eaten by my husband in no time, while I was already full after one sandwich.
But what exactly is a Sloppy Joe? It is a bun (a burger bun) filled with a mix of ground beef and ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. A delicious mix that can also be made quickly with ingredients that everyone usually has at home!
I have never eaten an original Sloppy Joe but I had something like that in the Netherlands and I certainly liked it. Since I all want to find new ways to introduce soy chunks into my daily diet, I thought this was really the perfect way. Because it is simply a traditional meat dish that can also be made vegan.
Today I will show you how you can do that. Of course it starts again with soaking soy chunks in lukewarm water. And this time too we replace the Worcestershire sauce with a vegan alternative, hoisin and soy sauce.
So let’s dive into the kitchen and start cooking, right?
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 125 gr soy chunks
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 onion in pieces
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 4 tablespoons of smoked paprika powder
- 100 ml of water
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 200 ml of ketchup
- 1 teaspoon of mustard
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- salt
- pepper
- chili flakes (optional)
Preparation
We will first start by soaking the soy chunks in lukewarm water for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse with lukewarm water. Squeeze them well and set them aside. Cut the onion, garlic and bell pepper into small pieces and put all the ingredients within reach.
Heat some olive oil in a wide and low saucepan. When the oil is warm, add the soy chunks. Fry them on high heat for a few minutes, then add 3 tablespoons of paprika, salt and pepper while stirring. If the chunks threaten to stick to the pan, you can use a little extra olive oil.
After 5 minutes, add the onion, garlic and bell pepper to the soy chunks. Stir well again and let it bake for 5 minutes. Then add the water, tomato paste and ketchup. Stir this mixture well and then add the sugar. Let it simmer a bit and add the mustard, hoisin and soy sauce.
Then let it simmer with a lid on the pan over a low heat and after 5 minutes taste whether the chunks are tender enough and have flavor. Are they too sweet? Then add a little more soy sauce. If you think they’re too salty, add more ketchup or hoisin.
Let the mix simmer for a while and heat your sandwich in the toaster or oven in the meantime. Serve with garnishes such as pickle, fresh red onion and chili flakes!
The result
I really liked it! We really enjoyed it and I am now obliged to make it more often for the boys in the house! Of course I don’t mind at all, because I just really love to cook.
I didn’t really make my mix too wet, because I don’t like to eat soggy sandwiches. But if you want the sauce to be slightly saucy (sloppy!), Add a little more water. But be careful that it is not too much, otherwise the pan will have to remain on the fire longer.
You can make exactly the same recipe with fake or real ground beef. Replace the soy chunks with 500 grams of ground beef and cook it slightly less and with butter instead of olive oil.
Well, this was the recipe for this week’s spotlight, see you later!
