Bacon

There are all kinds of ways to make vegan bacon.  One is using thin slices of marinated tofu.  You can also buy many vegan bacon products in the store.  This is the best method I have tried so far.

 

INGREDIENTS
  • Rice paper (there should be enough marinade to make 8 sheets of rice paper’s worth of rice paper bacon, possibly more)
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
  • ½ tablespoon maple syrup
  • generous pinch of ground black pepper
  • pinch of paprika or smoked paprika
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the marinade in a wide bowl until the nutritional yeast is incorporated well; prepare a second wide bowl filled partway with water.
  3. Prepare a metal, oven-safe rack with a sheet of parchment paper.  You can also use a baking sheet.
  4. Take two sheets of the rice paper and run them under the tap to get them wet.  They will stick together.
  5. Place the two fused sheets on a cutting board and either using kitchen shears or a pizza cutter, cut them into bacon sized strips.**
  6. Dip the fused pair of rice paper strips into the marinade and coat it fairly generously; place it onto the parchment paper.
  7. Repeat with additional rice paper/rice paper strips until the rack is filled.  Periodically stop to whisk the marinade again and re-emulsify it; the oil will start to separate over time.
  8. Bake for about 7 to 9 minutes, or until crisp. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the tray partway through. The strips can burn easily, so keep an eye on it and take them out as soon as they’re done. The end result will be mostly crispy with some slightly chewy parts.
  9. Once fully cooled, store leftover rice paper bacon in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. It will stay pretty crispy.

**Alternate method is to use a knife and cut the dry sheets into strips and then wet and stick them together.