Vegan Basil "Chicken"

I came across this recipe and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to try it.  I used real fish sauce so mine wasn't truly vegan.  They give what you should buy for vegan (white soy) in the recipe.  I bought some organic, non GMO firm tofu and put it in the freezer before I made this.  I took it out and let it thaw overnight in the fridge and when I went to work.  It was thawed when I got home.

I was making the "vegan ground meat" according to his other recipe which is here.  I wanted to get that done first, so that is what I started with.

I followed his directions exactly.  It looked like his did pretty much.

I took the stems out of the shiitakes, cleaned them and threw them into the food processor.  I put 3 cloves of smashed garlic in too, and the Bird's eye chili peppers (two), cut in half and stems removed.  I processed until they were a fine grind.

I sauteed them in avocado oil until the liquid was gone.

I added in the onions and peppers.  Next time I would do the picture above and below all together, I don't think it needed to be done separately, in my opinion...

Those Thai chilies were making my eyes water - they were HOT!  I was coughing up a storm.  My son said he could smell them from the living room and they were making his eyes water!  When the onions and peppers were soft and almost cooked, I added in the tofu.

I stir-fried some more until it was browned.  I tasted at this point, and I wasn't impressed at all!  I was a little worried, to be honest...

I added the soy sauce, fish sauce (I used Red Boat) and raw sugar.  I added in the Thai basil and when bright green, removed from the heat.

So, I had another taste then, and WOW, what a difference those three ingredients made - with the basil.  I guess that is what you call "umami".  I really enjoyed this.  I garnished with some more fresh Thai basil.

I didn't find the peppers too hot and there was a lot of harmonious flavors going on.  Did it taste like "chicken"?  NO, but that was not my goal anyway - I just wanted it to taste good and it did!  I did not miss "meat" at all.

My son had a bit of a "texture" problem with it, but he did eat it all and said he would have it again.  I said for him that next time I would probably add more mushrooms and then serve it over rice so he would not notice the tofu as much.  I have more tofu in the freezer, so I probably will make it again...  😉  It was a successful "experiment".