Homemade Frozen Soya Mince

So I was puzzled as to what to call this recipe. I've always found it confusing that the dry soy mince you see in the picture there is called the same as the bags of cooked and seasoned frozen soy mince you can buy....so just to be clear, this is a recipe for those frozen, cooked and seasoned bags of soy mince, not on how to make dried soy mince granules :-) Also, is it soy or soya?? I've never known and use both interchangeably here, gah - confusion!
*Update - The dry soy mince that I've used to make this (the bag you see in the photo there) is also known as TVP or textured vegetable protein in the US.

Anyway, I came up with this recipe out of necessity as I cannot seem to buy the frozen soy mince here in Ireland anymore :-(  My favourite was always Tesco's own label soy mince as I felt it had the best texture but I can't even find Linda McCartney's anymore. 

Since I have quite a few recipes that call for frozen soy mince: goulash, stuffed jumbo pasta shell lasagna, chimichangas, burritos and enchiladas, chilli and rice, wontons, gyoza, oven baked mini wonton rolls, grilled cheeseburger wrap and most importantly our traditional Christmas dinner main dish of Tourtiere, I committed myself to creating a recipe to replace it.

I had a look at the ingredients for Linda McCartney's Mince and basically just based this on that. The onion and garlic are basic flavourings here, the malt extract, a sweet syrup, was also in hers and adds a sweetness which is important as dried soy mince can have a slight bitterness, then I've tried to create "meaty" flavours with the soy sauce, Worcester sauce and mushroom stock.

Altogether, I am SO happy with this recipe that even if I could buy the store bought stuff again, I wouldn't. I have so far used my homemade version in my recipes for the goulash, burritos, enchiladas, the grilled cheeseburger wrap and a new favourite wrap which will be blogged next, and I haven't been able to tell the difference. Further bonus - my son, who was never too keen on the store bought soy mince, LOVES my version! 

You can use mine as you would the store bought stuff, the only difference I have found is that my version doesn't need as much water added (if any) while cooking. For example, in my goulash I would add half a can of water when I added the frozen soy mince and with this mince, I don't need it.

Homemade Frozen Soy Mince:

1¼ cups dried soy mince/ TVP (100g)
1 x Kallo mushroom stock cube
450ml water
1 tsp each: soy sauce, vegan Worcester sauce and malt extract
½ tsp each: garlic and onion granules (powder is fine too)

Measure the soy mince into a bowl.

 In a small saucepan add everything else. Whisk while bringing to a boil. 

Pour over the soy mince, cover and let sit for 5 – 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff it with a fork.

Spread out onto a large plate or paper lined baking sheet (whatever will fit in your freezer) cool to room temperature then place in the freezer. 

Every half hour or so, remove from the freezer and crumble and separate the granules with your hands so you don't end up with a large frozen sheet of mince. I first use a spatula to life the mince off the tray then crumble it with my hands. Return to the freezer. When the mince is completely frozen and separated, transfer to a freezer bag and keep in the freezer.

Recipe makes 470 grams of soy mince.

Use from frozen, as you would store bought frozen soy mince. Mine has always been eaten up within a month of making it but I imagine it should keep in the freezer fine for 6 months or so :-)

♥

Nutritional Information: based on 100g

Calories: 100

Protein: 13g

Fat: 0g

Sat Fat: 0g

Fibre: 4.3g

Carbs: 9g

Sugar: 4.1g

Sodium: 507mg