Pork Chops

"He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs" (Sorcerer's Stone 123).

Once again I will attempt to make a vegetarian version of a carnivore's staple. I think we can all agree that my last couple attempts were pretty dreadful, mostly due my idiocy in choosing the wrong type of yeast. So today I turn to Veganize It for my pork chop recipe.

You Will Need:

1 cup vital wheat gluten

1 cup water mixed with 1tsp No Chicken Broth Paste

3 Tbs MimicCreme (I couldn't find mimiccreme, but am told it is a not-dairy cream substitute, so I used soy creamer instead)

For the Broth You Will Need:

4 Cups No Chicken Broth (1 tsp of paste to each cup)

1 cup MimicCreme

1/8 cup Tamari (I used soy sauce)

1/2 Tbs No Beef Boullion

1 cup pineapple coconut nectar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp 5 spice powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Shallot powder (I couldn't find shallot powder, so I used onion powder)

4 whole cloves, ground (I used pre-ground cloves)

3 points of a whole-star anise

1 tsp kosher salt (I skipped this since my previous seitans have been so horribly salty)

1 tsp sugar

1 additional cup of water

1. In a bowl, mix together the first 3 ingredients until completely combined.

2. In a medium-large pot, mix together all the broth ingredients and bring to a boil.

3. While your broth comes to a boil, take your ball of seitan dough and squeeze out the excess moisture. This will take awhile. You can use a paper towel to pat some moisture away if you like, but only pat it, otherwise the paper will stick to the dough.

4. On a cutting board, flatten the dough ball into a disk and cut into 6 wedges.

5. Before putting each wedge into the boiling broth, flatten it between your hands a bit. Drop all the pie-pieces into the boiling broth and cover.

6. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and let it cook for a little over an hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

7. Take the finished "pork chops" out of the broth using a slotted spoon and drain in a colander.

8. If you aren't going to eat all six chops immediately, pour the broth into a storage container with the remaining chops so they stay juicy and flavorful.

It's been a long time since I've tasted a pork chop, but I these don't taste anything like I remember. But they certainly are delicious anyway! I'd recommend eating them with a nice rice pilaf. Enjoy!