Vegetarian Ribs - From scratch with gluten (Vegan) by
This recipe sounds crazy but it works. It's also highly resilient to mistakes. If you think it's going wrong, just keep going. You'll probably be surprised.
Ingredients
2 cups gluten
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups water
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 large onion, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups barbeque sauce
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, stir together the gluten, yeast, paprika and salt. Pour in the water all at once and quickly mix with a sturdy spoon. Additional water may be necessary to moisten all of the dry gluten. Don't worry that the ball is rather solid, it is supposed to be. Pour off any excess water. (Note: I have never had to pour off water or add more.)
2. Remove the whole gluten ball from the bowl and knead for 2 to 3 minutes on a clean surface. Return it to the bowl, and coat the outside evenly with smooth peanut butter. Set aside.
3. Add onion and oil to skillet. Heat (from cold) then cook and stir until golden brown. Remove from the heat and let cool briefly. Pour the onion and oil into a small food processor and pulse uintil onion pieces are fairly tiny. Pour the mixture over the ball of gluten. Poke a few times with a chopstick, knife or even a fork, allowing the oil to soak into the ball. Let cool.
4. When the ball is just warm enough to be manageable, use your hands to mix the peanut butter, oil and onions in. There will be a lot of oil and onion bits that will not mix in and tiny pieces of gluten that will not stay attached. That's okay. The oil mainly helps the gluten absorb the spice. Just mix as much as you can. However, mix for ~5 minutes to ensure that the peanut butter is mixed in well.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
6. Break off good sized handfuls of dough and shape them into strips by pulling and twisting. You want them to be about 4 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Don't try cutting these, or rolling them out, as that will make them behave more like bread and change the texture appreciably. Place the strips on a greased baking sheet.
7. Brush ribs lightly with BBQ sauce.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and brush again with BBQ sauce.
2. Remove the whole gluten ball from the bowl and knead for 2 to 3 minutes on a clean surface. Return it to the bowl, and coat the outside evenly with smooth peanut butter. Set aside.
3. Add onion and oil to skillet. Heat (from cold) then cook and stir until golden brown. Remove from the heat and let cool briefly. Pour the onion and oil into a small food processor and pulse uintil onion pieces are fairly tiny. Pour the mixture over the ball of gluten. Poke a few times with a chopstick, knife or even a fork, allowing the oil to soak into the ball. Let cool.
4. When the ball is just warm enough to be manageable, use your hands to mix the peanut butter, oil and onions in. There will be a lot of oil and onion bits that will not mix in and tiny pieces of gluten that will not stay attached. That's okay. The oil mainly helps the gluten absorb the spice. Just mix as much as you can. However, mix for ~5 minutes to ensure that the peanut butter is mixed in well.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
6. Break off good sized handfuls of dough and shape them into strips by pulling and twisting. You want them to be about 4 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Don't try cutting these, or rolling them out, as that will make them behave more like bread and change the texture appreciably. Place the strips on a greased baking sheet.
7. Brush ribs lightly with BBQ sauce.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and brush again with BBQ sauce.