We thought it would be nice to counter our last post with a heavy and satisfing meal, that is loaded with BBQ sauce, fries and mayo.

Since our last recipe was an amazing healing and healthy autumn soup, we wanna show you all how varied vegans actually eat. There are no rules on how healthy or junky a vegan meal must be.

As ada wrote in our vegan week inspiration post;
"I rarely indulge in very "meat-like" meals, but when I do, I go over the top.." I think that goes for all of us in the Ambrosia crew, having this recipe to prove it.

When we created this recipe, our goal was to make something similar to BBQ ribs. As the recipe turned out, I would say it is more similar to the dish "bbq steak".

It is a bit crispy on the outside, yet chewy and "meaty" inside. Even though it's not an everyday-recipe, sometimes I am happy to be able to serve something like this, that is completely free from dead animals.

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When making something similar to meat, umami plays a big role;
Umami is said to be the fifth taste. Umami is referred to as a savory, full, meaty and satisfying taste. You can achieve umami by using different ingredients and combining them. All vegan of course!

When we think about adding umami to our dishes, this is what comes to mind:

• Mushrooms (Chantarelle, portobello, and shiitake are our favorites.)

• Tomato paste.

• Nutritional yeast

• Wine.

• Smoked paprika & Liquid smoke.

• Vegetable Broth.

• Vegan parmesan.

• Soy sauce / Mushroom soy sauce.

• Carrots.

• TVP / Textured vegetable protein.

• Tea.

Go ahead and experiment with some of these ingredients to create awesome umami in your dishes!

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Today's recipe is unfortunately not gluten-free. It is based on extracted gluten from wheat, so you could say it is kind of the opposite of gluten free!

We do normally make gluten-free food and promise a gf. option for our next recipe! Meanwhile, Try out these awesome gluten free and vegan cheese omelettes.

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Recipe: Vegan bbq steak with fries and homemade mayo!

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Seitan/Gluten flour can be purchased in most health stores with a good vegetarian selection, or several places online. This is not the same as regular flour!

base:

• 2 Cups Seitan flour.

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Broth mix:

• 1,3 cups vegetable broth (boiled water with 3 cubes of -
• bullion works great!)
• 4 Tbs. Tomato puree.
• 5 Tbs. mushroom soy sauce.
• 4 Bay leaves.

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Spices:

• 4 tbs. smoked paprika / liquid smoke. (Or both!)
• 2 Tbs. Garlic powder.
• 2 Tbs. Onion powder
• 1 Tbs. Nutritional yeast.

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Topping:

• BBQ sauce.

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Mayo:

• 1 dl Unsweetened soymilk.
• 1 - 2 tbs. Mustard (Dijon or a similarly strong and smooth kind).
• 1 - 2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar.
• 2 - 3 dl Sunflower or rapeseed oil (as neutral in taste as possible).
  A pinch of salt.

• Garlic to taste.

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Follow these easy steps to make your own delicious, vegan BBQ steak:

1: Start off with mixing boiled water, vegetable bullion and the spices in a bowl.

Give it a good stir.

2: in a bigger bowl, add the seitan flour, and then stir in the broth and spice-mix.

You wanna stir it in quickly but carefully because when the gluten is activated by the water, it firms up quite fast.

3: Add the dough to a greased baking tray.

Now, you have to drag and knead the dough with your hands. You can feel that it tightens up a bit, and that is the consistency you want.

4: leave it in the oven for 35 minutes on 190 C.

Take it out, sprinkle with a good load of your favorite BBQ sauce put it back in the oven for 20 more minutes.

While you wait for the steak to finish; make the mayo;

Start off by mixing soy milk, vinegar, mustard, and salt in a bowl. I like to taste the mix first to see if the flavors are just right. Slowly, pour the oil in a thin stream, while using a hand blender. Pour and blend until you get a nice and thick dressing. How much oil you need depends on the consistency you want; the more oil you use, the thicker your dressing will turn out. Aaand voila, simple as that, you have delicious mayo in a matter of minutes.

see our post The one and only vegan mayo + some wonderful variations for more mayo-inspiration!

5: Take the steak out of the oven, wait a few minutes before cutting it up.

Alternatively, you can fry it a bit in the pan, but I find them really good as they already are at this point.

Side-dish suggestion: Oven baked potatoes and Broccoli!

Whip up your favorite potatoes, or:

1: Cut the potatoes in four; toss them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and rosemary to taste.

Leave them in the oven for around 40 minutes on 225 C or 437 F until crispy.

2: While they are in the oven, cut your broccoli in the size you like.

Add a frying pan to medium/high heat with a Tbs. Oil. Finely chop 1-2 cloves of garlic and 1/2 chili.

3:

Fry the garlic and chili for a minute, before throwing in your broccoli. Stir-fry it for about 4 minutes. You can easily see when it is a bit softer on the outside, and still fresh and crunchy inside.

Add everything to a plate, and enjoy!

Let us know what you think in the comments!

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Love and light, Emilie / @umulius - Ambrosia crew.

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We are 'Ambrosia ~ vegan food and herbal healing.'
A small group of passionate beings with a burning desire to both share and gain more wisdom about nature, our bodies, and how they connect.
With our traveling vegan cafe, we are looking to accomplish many things, you can read more about our vision in our introduction post.

~Here is a link to our Facebook-page. ~

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