You see, Forks Over knives listed this recipe on their website.

I am not a certified chef. I am not a nutritionist. I just like to make good stuff. So it means the world to me that this recipe is listed on Forks Over Knives, one of my favorite food documentaries.

I think the most important part of making the veggie meat is the flavoring, and also the reasoning why you want to know how to cook veggie meat. These past 5 years I was so busy trying to make a recipe of how, instead of why. There is a reason why my precious black beans become double the size with rejuvenation after soaking overnight; because they deserve to be rewarded. Beans go through drought during the dry season, storm during the rainy season, and it takes a hell of a journey for them to end up being in your kitchen. Back then when I started creating any veggie recipes, I was so focused on creating the flavor that tasted like meat, and I forgot about the journey of each ingredient. I forgot the wonder of nature.

Now that I want to present to you my veggie meat, not because it tastes like meat; but because I love the way beans talk to me when I soak them overnight; those squeaking little sound that they make, it almost sounds like they are excited to be my food, to be my nutrition, and become a part of me. My love of recipe making has nothing to do with meat; it was my passion for plants, that comes from nature. And I really hope you like this recipe.

1: Soak the black beans overnight. 
Then boil them in low heat for 1~2 hours the next day.

2: Cook black rice, brown rice, and quinoa.
1 cup of water should be enough.3: Mash the beans.

4: Chop onion, garlic, and mushrooms and mix with the black beans.

5: When rice is done, start flavoring!
Mix the cooked rice with the rest of the ingredients. This is also when you flavor the mixture. Simply add the soy sauce, maple syrup, salt and pepper, cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper in the bowl and mix well.

Use your hands to mix the mixture. If your veggie meat is too wet and doesn’t seem to stick together, you can add oats little by little to fix the situation. 

7: Make shapes.
If you are making veggie burgers, this is the recommended shape. You can wrap the rest in the fridge and should be fine for the next 5~6 days.

8: Grill the veggie meat!
If you are making the veggie burger, grill the veggie meat with medium-high heat. Wait till it turns a little bit brown and crunchy outside. This veggie meat is great for veggie burgers, but also fantastic for burritos, wraps, and food pies! I tried making Gyoza dumplings the other day, adding some garlic and Japanese “nira” leaves, and it was so, so good.

Though my veggie meat does taste like meat, I care more about my plant-based ingredients, how they are made, and where they come from. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to copy the taste that regular meat burgers have, because if you are like me, you don’t really think about eating meat; you think about how much you love beans, and how their stories can combine with flavors, and become your dinner.

I know that some of you came from Forks Over Knives website, and I’m super happy to have you here. But please know that I’m not trying to reduce the number of meat-eaters; I’m trying to increase the number of veggie lovers. I’m only trying to find someone like me in this digital world, and food is a very good denominator for that.

Thanks for reading.
-Yuki