These Lemon Pepper Soy Curls are bursting with bright lemony flavor. They’re quick and easy to make, so they’re perfect for dinner on busy week nights. This recipe is a vegan take on lemon pepper chicken. It’s vegan (of course!) and gluten-free. What are Soy Curls? If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll…
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The post Lemon Pepper Soy Curls with Broccoli appeared first on Dianne’s Vegan Kitchen.
These Lemon Pepper Soy Curls are bursting with bright lemony flavor. They’re quick and easy to make, so they’re perfect for dinner on busy week nights. This recipe is a vegan take on lemon pepper chicken. It’s vegan (of course!) and gluten-free.
What are Soy Curls?
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I like to cook with Soy Curls. A lot. Soy Curls are made by Butler Foods, and they’re a great alternative to meat. They have one ingredient: non-gmo whole soy beans. They have a meaty texture that’s similar to seitan, so they’re a good option for those who follow a gluten-free diet.
Where to Buy Soy Curls
I have yet to find Soy Curls in a store in my area, so I buy them in bulk from Amazon. They can be purchased in 8-ounce packages or 12-pound bulk boxes. You an also buy them directly from Butler. I recommend storing them in your fridge or freezer, because the natural oils in them can go bad.
How to Prepare Soy Curls
Soy Curls come dry and need to be rehydrated in hot water for about 10 or 15 minutes in order to cook them. They then need to be drained of any excess water. I like to soak them in a colander sitting inside a metal bowl that’s just slighter larger. I drain them by pulling out the colander, and then I squeeze out any extra water by placing the bowl inside the colander and pressing down. (Over the kitchen sink, of course!)
Then can then be used in your favorite recipe. (Like this one!) They can be used as a meat replacement in pretty much any omnivore recipe.
Better Than Bouillon
I’ve used Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian No Chicken Base in this recipe. It adds a little bit of umami flavor to the Soy Curls. You can use Not-Chick’n Edward & Sons Bouillon Cubes, too, or any other type of vegan bouillon that you might have on hand.
How to Make Lemon Pepper Soy Curls
This recipe is super easy to make!
- After you’ve rehydrated your Soy Curls, you cook them in a pan with a little oil, some lemon juice, and black pepper for about 10 minutes.
- While they’re cooking, you can whisk together the lemon pepper sauce and set it aside until you’re ready to use it.
- Once the Soy Curls have cooked, you set them aside and use the same pan to cook in the onion for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to to brown.
- Then you add the broccoli to the pan and cook it until it turns bright green, about 5 more minutes.
- Next you add the Soy Curls back into the pan along with the lemon pepper sauce. You cook it for a few more minutes, or until it’s heated throughout.
If you happen to have two pans, you can cook the Soy Curls in one pan and the vegetables in another and then combine them in one pan. I do this to save on time.
If you can’t find Soy Curls and aren’t on a gluten-free diet, you can use 8 ounces of seitan instead.
Serving your Lemon Pepper Soy Curls
I like to serve this dish with cooked brown rice. You can also serve it with pasta or even mashed potatoes. If you love black pepper, sprinkle your dish with a little more black pepper.
Liz Lemon
Friends sometimes refer to me as The Vegan Martha Stewart, but really, I think I’m more like The Vegan Liz Lemon. While I’ve never taught improv to senior citizens or dated my own cousin, I have been known to request that people “shut it down,” and I love when Muppets present at award shows. Liz and I seem to share a similar fashion sense, and we both have men named Dennis in our lives. I may or may not have had popcorn for lunch in the past, and occasionally I will indulge in some night (vegan) cheese. I felt a lot like Liz at my last office job, where I constantly running around putting out fires and placating crazy co-workers.
30 Rock reruns can quite often be found playing on my television, so much so that I tend to precede the word “lemon” with “good-god!”, Jack’s exclamation of outrage towards Liz. And for that reason, I originally called this dish “Good-God Lemon Pepper Soy Curl’s with Broccoli.” 30 Rock may no longer be filming, but it will still live on in reruns – and in my meal homages. These Lemon-Pepper Soy Curls with Broccoli are so flavorful that the thought of them has me high-fiving a million angels.
Lemon Pepper Soy Curls with Broccoli
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Soy Curls (half a package)
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon No-Chicken Base (or 1 un-chicken bouillon cube)
- 2 teaspoons neutral-flavored oil divided
- 1/4 cup lemon juice divided
- 2 teaspoons black pepper divided, plus more for serving
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 bunch broccoli chopped (about 5 cups)
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon rosemary crumbled
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 cups cooked brown rice or pasta for serving, optional
- 1 lemon cut into wedges, for serving
Instructions
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Dissolve the bouillon in the hot water. Re-constitute the Soy Curls by placing them in a bowl and pouring the broth over them. Let them sit for about 15 minutes. Drain the Soy Curls, saving 1/2 cup of the water.
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Whisk together the reserved soy curl water, the remaining lemon juice and pepper, and the cornstarch, rosemary, garlic powder, sea salt. Set aside until ready to use.
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Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in large pan over medium high heat. Add the soy curls, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Cook until the Soy Curls begin to brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. If they begin to stick use a little water or stock to moisten the pan. Once the soy curls have browned to your liking, remove them from the pan and set aside.
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Add the rest of the oil to the pan along with the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent. Add the broccoli and cook for about five more minutes, until the broccoli turns bright green. Add the Soy Curls back to the pan along with the lemon juice mixture. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes or so, or until the mixture is heated throughout.
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Remove from heat. Season with more black pepper to taste, if desired.
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Serve with brown rice or pasta, if using, and lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Other Soy Curl recipes you might enjoy include:
- Vegan Chicken Salad with Soy Curls
- Sweet and Sour Soy Curls
- Soy Curl Fajitas
- Vegan Shawarma with Soy Curls
- Buffalo Soy Curl Wraps
Other lemony recipes you might enjoy include:
- Lemon Dijon Tempeh with Mushrooms
- Kale and Edamame Salad with Lemon Herb Dressing
- Spaghetti Squash in Lemon Caper Sauce
- Roasted Cauliflower Cutlets with Lemon
- Lemon Poppy Muffins
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