Alternative Proteins: Dried Textured Soya Protein
I buy it from local health food shops or online.
To make a decent burger from this, you will need to work out how much water the dry mince absorbs, then reduce it. This is because the texture of the cooked burger is better if the mince is a bit under-hydrated to begin with. If you have scales, weigh out 20g mince, then add water gradually until it has absorbed it all and is soft, but not oozing water. Calculate the amount of water, by weighing the wet mix. If you don’t have scales, use cups or something similar & simple. Use small amounts for this test. Don’t waste your mince by using too much at this stage.
Now, do NOT use the same amount of water for the mix, but reduce it by 20%. So, if you plan to use 500g dry mince, it will probably take up about 1000 g cold water. Drop this to 800g. If it is 1 cup of mince to 2 cups water, reduce the water to 1 ½ cups plus a tablespoon. When making vegan burgers that include methylcellulose, the water must be VERY cold. Adding ice to the water to chill it down is good, but do not allow the ice into the mix. Having calculated how much you need, do NOT add the water to the soya mince yet.
Mix the methylcellulose, crumbled stock cube, spices and herbs together. Add a couple of spoons of the dry soy mince to the spice mix and mix in.
Add the soy sauce to the very cold water, sprinkle the seasoning and soy mix made in the previous step over the top and stir in. It should become a little gluey as the methylcellulose thickens up. Leave to stand for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally but not vigorously.
Add the remaining dry soy mince and mix gently in. Allow to stand for 2 minutes. Add the tomato puree.
Now go to Step 6 in the Method (Light Blue Button Below).
Another Alternative... Pea Protein