Hello friends and not yet friends, welcome back to Mary's Test Kitchen! Where I shall play your fairy
godmother; not turning pumpkins into carriages but instead turning pumpkin seeds into this very
delicious bacon alternative. You see, a while ago we found out that pumpkin seeds can make a
one ingredient tofu without any additional coagulant. Not only is that a neat trick,
but this tofu is super rich, creamy and delicious. The high fat content makes it a satisfying,
filling tofu that's more like cheese than tofu. But that got me thinking of the plant-based
possibilities and this is one of them. It really tastes like bacon. Plus it has that fatty,
crispy mouth feel like animal-based bacon even if it doesn't quite look like it. Of course I
didn't actually film the first time I made this nor did I write down the ingredients. So today
I'm trying to recreate it from memory. First up a quarter cup of this Canadian national treasure:
China Lily soy sauce. There was a panic back in the fall of 2020 over a nationwide shortage.
But as you can see, its back on the shelves. I love it, especially for meaty style marinades.
The next essential ingredient is liquid smoke; half a teaspoon. And if you want a really
convincing pork like flavor, the next essential ingredient is controversial.
So controversial that I'm actually going to try to skip it and use an alternative first. Guess the real ingredient in
the comments and later you'll find out if you're right. This is mushroom seasoning commonly used
in East Asian vegetarian cooking. It's made from an extract of mushrooms plus salt. It helps to add
a savory meat like flavor from the naturally occurring glutamic acids in mushrooms without
actually tasting like those earthly mushrooms. If you're interested, you can find it at some
East Asian grocery stores and online. And if I find a link, I'll leave it in the description.
Then I'm going in with a teaspoon of paprika and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper. And because
I can't help myself and love to put these in everything I eat, a quarter teaspoon each of
garlic and onion powder. However, you don't really need them. So if you're at this point with me,
add what you like. This will be your vegan bacon and there are no rules.
Next, grab your leftover pumpkin seed tofu from the fridge. This pumpkin seed tofu was actually
frozen and then thawed. I wanted to see if there would be a texture change like there
is when you freeze and thaw regular tofu. Like when I made my famous vegan chicken.
For the pumpkin seed tofu is there the same meaty conversion?
Well, you'll find out after this ad break.
Thanks for supporting my free content, dear friends, because after that suspense,
we find out that there is no difference after freezing and thawing pumpkin seed tofu.
At least, to my eye and also to my taste. In any case, slice up your homemade "PumFu" best as you can.
I tried to make them as thin as I could. Cut too thin and they are impossible to
handle without breaking. So we've settled on strips about an eighth to a quarter inch thick.
They go into the marinade
But not for long. Just 5 minutes. Otherwise they become too salty.
We'll cook them three different ways. The simplest way is cooking on a pan. I've got this over medium
heat with just the tiniest touch of olive oil. When it's hot, in goes a couple slices.
They cook for 3 minutes before I need to flip.
And then three minutes more.
And that sizzling vegan bacon is ready to eat.
Now you can really see it's not trying to look like animal-based bacon. In fact, after it stops sizzling, it
kind of looks like your ordinary, tough, dry, and very obviously vegan tofu bacon. But when you bite
into it, you can tell the difference immediately. The fat and protein in this pumpkin seed bacon,
make it really feel like the crispy, leaner part of real bacon. There's a certain crunch that's fatty
and savory. At the same time. I have to admit the look, especially on the inside, could be improved
though. And also the taste. Today's is not the same as my original off-camera version that one
was actually mind-blowingly pork like. So, we're going to have to make some adjustments. Later.
For now, I'm going to put two strips in the air fryer with a drizzle of oil on one of them so
you can see the difference. And then I start air frying for 6 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lastly, I'm going to put a couple strips in the new dehydrator I just got on Black Friday. So
far I love it. I've made some Christmas presents. However, like most appliances these days, it's not
completely without drawbacks. So if you want to see a full review, do let me know in the comments.
Now the airfryer is done. I don't know if you can tell,
but they look a lot drier than the pan fried bacon and tastes like it too. It is not as convincing,
but it's still delicious. The difference is pronounced enough that I think that
you'd notice if you're eating this as a side to your tofu scramble,
but subtle enough that I don't think you'd notice in a sandwich or even crumbled on salad.
Our dehydrator bacon is also ready. Notice we are missing one though. Just one strip in there.
Hmm. I wonder how that happened. Don't wonder too hard. Look at that glisten. It looks the best in
my opinion. But how does it taste? My friends, I think we've just made the actual best vegan
bacon. Well, almost like I said, the flavor is not as porky as my original but the texture is
so right. It has that lean but fatty bite to it and then that slight chew around the edges
and actually throughout the piece it has a little bit of this meaty chew to it. It's crispy and yet
some parts are tender. I think I'm not trying to tell you to buy a new appliance, but this
is at the actual best. I think with the correct marinade, this really is going to taste like
the best best vegan bacon yet. But I need to do it again with a full batch to be fully confident.
This video has been too long though so I'll probably include the next test in a upcoming
What I Eat In A Day video. So please turn on your notifications if you don't want to
miss that. Thank you so much for watching my friends to follow the ups and downs,
the wins, the failures. Happy holidays and bye for now!