Cool! Maybe it is trumpets I’m thinking of too, and I’m getting my mushrooms mixed up. I was too lazy to make the cuts so they look like scallops but they tasted really good.
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When we were in China in 1982, we were served a meal that included “Buddhist Duck”. Our tour guide (from the United States) was sure it was real duck until the Chinese national guide talked about the entirely vegetarian meal we had just had.
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I always seek out Buddhist cuisine when travelling in Asia. Couldn’t find any in the places I went to in Korea but I will look into that on future trips.
One of the meals at Lao She temple in Chengdu, China. Fresh heaven-facing chillies were nice but the dried version is on another level. I ate a handful, Chinese diners with whom I shared the table didn’t touch any. I know you are not “supposed” to eat the chillies but I wanted to know what they tasted like. (Photo)
At my temple in Koyashan, Japan. Every meal was sensational, also visually. (Photo)
I can’t say I’ve gone out of my way to buy or order substitutions of any kind. But I did try store bought fsux beef and crab at parties and cheese at a vegan cafe.
I find that each was doctored enough with other fresh produce and condiments that the faux flavor wasn’t noticed.
Beautiful! I’ve always wanted to stay overnight at Koyasan, but have not quite made it there yet. I do love how beautifully Japanese food is always presented.
I dined at Po Lin monastery the first time I visited the Big Buddha in Hong Kong. I didn’t get the VIP experience (didn’t know it was a thing) and just bought the regular lunch meal ticket where you’re in a dining hall like a big restaurant and dining with other parties at a round table (but you get your own dishes). Presented more homestyle (read: not fancy, or particular attention to plating) but the food was really flavorful and quite good. I was very pleasantly surprised. No photos though, as this was 20+ years (and 20+ lbs) ago.
Notice in Japanese Buddhist cuisine they don’t make any food to look or taste like meat and fish. Just use pure vegetables, plants and natural ingredients creatively. The sesame tofu is so interesting.
Good thing I took a photo of the sign outside the temple where I lodged for 2 nights. Their website has more photos of the interior. Koyasan is expensive but I’m glad I did it. (Collage of Yochi-in temple. From the last train station one takes a funicular through the woods to Koyasan.)
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Saw this at the market.
I avoid highly processed food of any kind so no, no interest in faux seafood. I did try an Impossible burger once out of curiosity and while the texture was almost freakishly meat-like, the flavor was not. The ingredient list was long and unpronounceable. Not something I’d eat again even if I believed it to be a healthier alternative to meat, which I do not.
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Are the vegetables fed and grown in the ocean ?
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I suppose my take away is this: if there is an audience for any faux product, we will see it on the shelf. I enjoy fish so I have no need to sub but I don 't judge anyone who would buy these options.
Pretty benign list of ingredients: Pea Protein, Pea Starch, Water, Olive Oil, Black Pepper, Potato Starch, Sea Salt, Seaweed Powder, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Paprika, Konjac Powder, Ginger.
I’m planning a Whole Foods run tomorrow. I’ll pick up a can, unless it’s crazy expensive.
The seaweed probably is.
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Oh, I’ll look forward to a report if you get some!
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Also look out for another brand with the word “Tuno” (something like that…) in it.
According to reviews it costs more than real tuna and texture is chewy. Taste is subjective.
My Whole Foods did not have it. I am sad! Luckily, I also went to the Union Square Greenmarket and got regular seafood (scallops, squid, monkfish, skate), so I won’t starve anytime soon.
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Oh, but thanks for the update! And it sounds like you will be feasting quite well in the next few days. Enjoy!
So far, so good. (The scallops should be more caramelized. I didn’t squish them well enough. Pretty nice anyway!)
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Oh, they look so tender and fresh! Yum. Now I want scallops.
Saw it today at Stop snd Shop in a section they recently created for vegan customers.
… which pretty much guarantees no one else will buy them. I wish there was some cross-indexing scheme so foods (or books, or whatever) could be found in all reasonable places. For example, organic juices would be in both the organic and the juice sections.
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Vocabulary question. Can you really caramelize scallops? You can brown them. You can sear them (which is browning until a crust forms). Is there enough sugar to truly caramelize them?
This is a peeve of mine. People talk about caramelized onions and then serve you sauteed, browned onions. Those “ain’t” caramelized.
On that note, since tonight is burger night here at Chez Auspicious I’m going to go through some onions in the slow cooker for caramelized onions.
