I first bought two packs to sample over the winter, and fell in love with them instantly. Months beforehand I came across them on youtube somehow(via the InstaPot series) and thought they looked interesting enough to try. I wanted to try new vegan recipes even though I'm not vegan myself. It's just nice to switch things up every so often with my cooking/diet. The first recipe I tried was char siu soy curls. I used a char siu seasoning pack, purchased from my local Asian market, to marinade about a half of cup of soy curls. I also added warm water and soy sauce. Afterwards, I let the curls soak for about 15-20 minutes while turning them every so often. I squeezed the curls out before sauteing them in sesame oil on high heat until browned. I made a light sweet and sour sauce to drizzle over the curls before sauteing them again. The end result was so delicious~ Tender, yet crispy and full of flavor. Tasted just like char siu pork.You can see it in the attached pictures. Since then I made; battered strips for dipping, crispy sweet and sour, sauteed 'fish'(with kelp/fish seasoning) w/rice, bbq and sandwiches. I wasn't able to take pictures of everything, but I attached what I could. I loved how I was able to make so much from just two bags. However, I do plan to buy them in bulk(on the butler foods website because it's at least 40 some odd dollars cheaper than on amazon) next to try even more recipes.
These have been my primary source of protein for about half a year. They taste amazing when prepared correctly and are substantially cheaper than buying meat or tofu from the grocery store. What I would recommend is not preparing them the way that it is indicated on the package. Submerging them in water for 10 minutes simply fills them with water. The strategy that I moved onto was putting a lot of spices into a bowl atop the curls. Then adding things like hot sauce, or soy sauce, or Worcestershire, or what ever your heart desires. Finally, add a little bit of water (do NOT submerge) and allow the curls to soak up the contents. You can add water in small bursts to continue the absorption process until the curls have the desired amount of hydration. I have moved on to buying them directly from Butler in their very large "bulk" packaging, but I still strongly recommend this product in any facet.
With just a little practice, we have learned to make the most delicious curls ever! [ NOTE: Buying the 6 8oz-bags on this website is the same price as at the Butler Curl website ($29, both including shipping). However, the 12lb bulk box is WAY cheaper on their website ($99 here or $62 on Butler's site, including shipping)! ] Because they're in the freezer, I soak them a little longer than the package says. But DON'T soak them until they're soft! That's too long - trust me. You want them slightly firm & just a little squeezable. Next, strain and squeeze out all of the water. You can do this ahead of time so you can marinate your curls for longer. Add a little water to make it a runnier marinade & squeeze it a few times, letting it marinate, sit, squeeze out, marinate, sit, squeeze out.. until you're ready. Then squeeze one last time & pour off the excess liquid. Voila! For example: an easy way to marinade is to put squeezed curls into glass container. Pour on soy sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, a little agave and a ton of spice. Close, shake and let sit until you're ready to cook. (Try any flavor combination! We've seasoned these in so many different ways. Don't be afraid to experiment.) How to cook: place in cast iron skillet in a single layer. You can use a little oil if you want but it's not necessary if your pan is seasoned. No need to turn a bunch of times or do anything crazy. They're kind of a throw-them-on-your-cast-iron-skillet-and-forget-it kind of food... almost. Just let it brown on one side while you get the rest of your meal together. Flip once or twice to brown all sides. That's it! Wow. So easy and so delicious. Seriously.. You will never want to eat another brand of veg protein thingies and you certainly don't need to eat any dead animals. These magic curls are filling, delicious & exploding with protein. We always always always have them on hand. (We buy the huge box now! Just store in a cold, dark cabinet.)
Wow, vegans don't have to suffer or make excuses any longer with this product. I transitioned to a solely plant based diet at the beginning of 2017 for health reasons based on medical nutritional science. The medical science didn't lie and without really trying, except for bumbling walking daily and a strict plant-based diet, I lost 77 lbs last year (that's more than I had to lose), my blood glucose dropped in half to well within the normal range (A1C = 4.7) and my cholesterol is now 133. In a year. It was effortless, too. But I digress. Because I've always preferred savory to sweet, I viewed the vegan/plant based journey as a new opportunity to work with new ingredients and learn/modify cuisines (thank, you Vegan Richa & Pinterest!). It's been an interesting ride learning all of the different ways to make (yes, fresh is amazing) and prepare tofu, the multitude of Southeast Asian sauces that transfer to tofu and vegetable dishes, working with MVP, and now this whole soy food called soy curls. When prepared correctly (don't soak more than 10 minutes), even my cynical meat eating friends can't tell if they're eating chicken, beef or fish. One of the best things about this product is that we can taste the seasonings on the soy curls without contamination prior to cooking as happens with raw meat. Although many people advocate soaking the soy curls in vegan chicken stock for flavor, we find it way too salty and prefer to soak them in plain boiling water and then coat with dry seasonings before cooking. They taste great with plain 'ol water as the first soak, which also reduces the sodium content of our meals. We now have 'pulled pork', General Tso's 'Chikn', spicy 'fish or chikn' fajitas, Mongolian 'beef' or 'beef' in orange sauce, chikn Tandoori, sesame 'chikn' 'beef' or 'pork' with noodles, and on and on and on... Lastly, this is a dehydrated whole food. Store them in your bunker for the coming apocalypse. We store ours in the freezer until ready to use, no defrosting required. Whoever invented this method of working with the entire soy bean deserves a Nobel Prize. Is this one of the perfect foods? We sure think so...bon appetit! UPDATE: We now order these in bulk directly from Butler Foods. Even with shipping, the bulk prices are $30 - $45 less than Amazon Prime's prices. With all of the savings, we order even more Butler products! Sorry Amazon, the minions might want to make some price adjustments...ahem.
These things are awesome. I made a vegan "chik'n" soup with them, and they really do taste like chicken. They are like tofu in the way they absorb the flavor of whatever you put them in (it doesn't taste like tofu). If you don't overcook them, they have a nice chewy texture, reminiscent of chicken. I will be buying again & again. These are fantastic! I love that they are packed with protein as well. I highly recommend.
Yum! I finally cooked these up (stored them in my freezer until I figured out what to do with them--this will definitely keep them longer). All you have to do is rehydrate them (use a flavorful marinade so they soak it up) for a bit, then cook them up. They can actually get crunchy caramelized outsides. If you have had imitation steak strips in vegetarian restaurants this is basically the same food item. They have a slightly chewy texture and soak up the flavor of whatever you rehydrate and cook them with. I boiled up a pot of water, soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil, dried shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger, cilantro root and green onion (white parts). Once it came to a boil I took it off the heat and added the entire package of soy curls (about 8 servings a bag I believe). After they soaked for an hour, I sauteed up some onions, added the marinated curls (without the sauce--I didn't want water to ruin the browning). Stir occasionally so they don't stick and burn to the pan, adjust seasoning if you want and then they're ready to eat! I made some Vietnamese cilantro dipping sauce to go on top of them and it makes enough lunches and dinners for almost the entire work week (served with rice and a vegetable side). I plan on making curry with the next batch. I think they'll do well in any dish--sauteed, stewed, BBQ style, whatever you can think to use regular meat strips in. They soak up flavor better than tofu and honestly are pretty fun to eat. Considering each bag is about $5 and will make a lot of food, these are a great deal as well. Will keep making lunches with them!
OK... here's the thing with this stuff. I ordered the 6 pack so I could experiment with it. The package says to "Place bag of Soy Curls in a bowl and cover with water, soak for 10 minutes." Results... DO NOT SOAK IN PLAIN WATER! Not unless you want something that resembles a chewy piece of cooked Styrofoam. Remember... this is a soy based product and it will soak up whatever you add to it. What you want to do is soak the curls in (WARM) seasoned water or, bar-b-que sauce, bean juice, chicken broth, or whatever liquid you can come up with, pre-seasoned to taste and give it about 20 to 30 minutes to really take it all in. Although the instruction tell you to season while cooking I would not recommend this as the seasoning does not penetrate the curls unless you plan on cooking them (Boiling them) for some time. My reason for the 5 star rating? Well, if you do not follow the instructions and soak your curls in something that will give it the predefined taste you are looking for THESE CURLS ARE AWESOME!!!! I've tried a few different seasoning tricks and EVERYONE (My Vegan and Non-Vegan friends) that I have tested these babies on LOVE them and cannot believe they are soy. Let your imagination, taste buds and altering the instructions guide you, and these delicious treats are a winner!
Best thing ever! I found out about these from Jill McKeever on YouTube since she had recipes for them. I'm not vegan but somehow lost my desire for chicken this year. When I saw Jill's recipes and the reactions of her family members and who couldn't tell whether it was real meat or not, I instantly ordered it. On my first try, I made a marinade recipe that I had always made with chicken - made sure I seasoned up the soy curls and left them in the marinated overnight and baked them covered in the oven the next day. I could tell no difference whatsoever between the taste of chicken and the soy curls. I'm truly blown away! It was soft, tender, had the texture of chicken, except the soy curls definitely felt lighter in my stomach than chicken would (and trust me, I ate a LOT of it!) However, if you don't season up the soy curls really good, it reminds me of the taste of tempeh. I've cooked tempeh quite a bit before and to me, it was difficult to get rid of the soy'ish after-taste. But with soy curls, you can marinade that taste away for sure. I haven't tried soy curls in non-marinade or non-saucy dishes like stir fry etc., so I'm not sure how it would be if not marinated or if not cooked in a stew or sauce. So far, however, I am VERY impressed. Totally wow'ed! Trust me, you can definitely fool omnivores with this one. I plan to keep trying soy curls with all of my previous chicken recipes that I had shelved when I mysteriously lost interest in the taste of chicken. This review is written after my very first attempt at cooking soy curls but I'm already eyeing the 12lb bag to keep in the freezer. I'm pretty sure I've found my chicken replacement. This needs to be in Whole Foods markets everywhere, but for now, I'm SO glad it's here online.
So I got my soy curl for the first time. I bought a one bag to test it out. And I soaked soy for only about 5 mins with some soy sauce. And then put oils on pan and add soy curls and grilled little..and then add my teriyaki sauce, little bit of sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce and boooom!!! It looked so legit!!! I served my husband with some noodles. And he said wow this is good is it a beef or chicken??? I said its....soy! He said what???what do you mean its a soy. It taste like chicken.. He would have never know if I never told him so. He said it was one of best "chicken dish" he ever ate..so plan to buy some more..so much possibility. .but like other viewers said. It needs to be really soaked up the sauce to be perfect..so heavier sauce dishes would work the best. Recommended!! Go vegan!!!
Amazing! Perfect meaty texture like chicken. I mashed them to look like ground chicken, shred them like pulled pork, left them as strips for stirfry. And made burgers. Super easy. I can't wait to make mock chicken fingers with this. You just have to season the soy curls because they have no flavor of their own. I was pleasantly surprised to find they do NOT taste like tofu. I hate tofu. Before you rehydrate them they taste like bland salt free potato chips. And the texture is a bit like pork rinds. Super crunchy and I like them straight our of the bag. You can crush them in the bag and leave the rest in chunks. You get a very convincing burger that way....Endless possibilities. I recommend rehydrating in a stock. You will get more flavor. Also don't soak them too long or they will be too soft. But they will still be good. I'm so glad I found these. Meals are more satisfying. Soy curls are very filling and one 8 ounce bag yields about 1.5 pounds after you soak them. A small serving is enough because it's so filling. So worth it! Watch Jill Mceever on you tube. She makes soycurls and loves them, too.
Jessica Schoenfelder
Such a great taste~ Very filling
I first bought two packs to sample over the winter, and fell in love with them instantly. Months beforehand I came across them on youtube somehow(via the InstaPot series) and thought they looked interesting enough to try. I wanted to try new vegan recipes even though I'm not vegan myself. It's just nice to switch things up every so often with my cooking/diet. The first recipe I tried was char siu soy curls. I used a char siu seasoning pack, purchased from my local Asian market, to marinade about a half of cup of soy curls. I also added warm water and soy sauce. Afterwards, I let the curls soak for about 15-20 minutes while turning them every so often. I squeezed the curls out before sauteing them in sesame oil on high heat until browned. I made a light sweet and sour sauce to drizzle over the curls before sauteing them again. The end result was so delicious~ Tender, yet crispy and full of flavor. Tasted just like char siu pork.You can see it in the attached pictures. Since then I made; battered strips for dipping, crispy sweet and sour, sauteed 'fish'(with kelp/fish seasoning) w/rice, bbq and sandwiches. I wasn't able to take pictures of everything, but I attached what I could. I loved how I was able to make so much from just two bags. However, I do plan to buy them in bulk(on the butler foods website because it's at least 40 some odd dollars cheaper than on amazon) next to try even more recipes.
Roxane Goodfellow
Excellent value, taste, and meat replacement
These have been my primary source of protein for about half a year. They taste amazing when prepared correctly and are substantially cheaper than buying meat or tofu from the grocery store. What I would recommend is not preparing them the way that it is indicated on the package. Submerging them in water for 10 minutes simply fills them with water. The strategy that I moved onto was putting a lot of spices into a bowl atop the curls. Then adding things like hot sauce, or soy sauce, or Worcestershire, or what ever your heart desires. Finally, add a little bit of water (do NOT submerge) and allow the curls to soak up the contents. You can add water in small bursts to continue the absorption process until the curls have the desired amount of hydration. I have moved on to buying them directly from Butler in their very large "bulk" packaging, but I still strongly recommend this product in any facet.
Heather England
There is nothing better!
With just a little practice, we have learned to make the most delicious curls ever! [ NOTE: Buying the 6 8oz-bags on this website is the same price as at the Butler Curl website ($29, both including shipping). However, the 12lb bulk box is WAY cheaper on their website ($99 here or $62 on Butler's site, including shipping)! ] Because they're in the freezer, I soak them a little longer than the package says. But DON'T soak them until they're soft! That's too long - trust me. You want them slightly firm & just a little squeezable. Next, strain and squeeze out all of the water. You can do this ahead of time so you can marinate your curls for longer. Add a little water to make it a runnier marinade & squeeze it a few times, letting it marinate, sit, squeeze out, marinate, sit, squeeze out.. until you're ready. Then squeeze one last time & pour off the excess liquid. Voila! For example: an easy way to marinade is to put squeezed curls into glass container. Pour on soy sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, a little agave and a ton of spice. Close, shake and let sit until you're ready to cook. (Try any flavor combination! We've seasoned these in so many different ways. Don't be afraid to experiment.) How to cook: place in cast iron skillet in a single layer. You can use a little oil if you want but it's not necessary if your pan is seasoned. No need to turn a bunch of times or do anything crazy. They're kind of a throw-them-on-your-cast-iron-skillet-and-forget-it kind of food... almost. Just let it brown on one side while you get the rest of your meal together. Flip once or twice to brown all sides. That's it! Wow. So easy and so delicious. Seriously.. You will never want to eat another brand of veg protein thingies and you certainly don't need to eat any dead animals. These magic curls are filling, delicious & exploding with protein. We always always always have them on hand. (We buy the huge box now! Just store in a cold, dark cabinet.)
Helen Arturo Halili
Bon Appetit!
Wow, vegans don't have to suffer or make excuses any longer with this product. I transitioned to a solely plant based diet at the beginning of 2017 for health reasons based on medical nutritional science. The medical science didn't lie and without really trying, except for bumbling walking daily and a strict plant-based diet, I lost 77 lbs last year (that's more than I had to lose), my blood glucose dropped in half to well within the normal range (A1C = 4.7) and my cholesterol is now 133. In a year. It was effortless, too. But I digress. Because I've always preferred savory to sweet, I viewed the vegan/plant based journey as a new opportunity to work with new ingredients and learn/modify cuisines (thank, you Vegan Richa & Pinterest!). It's been an interesting ride learning all of the different ways to make (yes, fresh is amazing) and prepare tofu, the multitude of Southeast Asian sauces that transfer to tofu and vegetable dishes, working with MVP, and now this whole soy food called soy curls. When prepared correctly (don't soak more than 10 minutes), even my cynical meat eating friends can't tell if they're eating chicken, beef or fish. One of the best things about this product is that we can taste the seasonings on the soy curls without contamination prior to cooking as happens with raw meat. Although many people advocate soaking the soy curls in vegan chicken stock for flavor, we find it way too salty and prefer to soak them in plain boiling water and then coat with dry seasonings before cooking. They taste great with plain 'ol water as the first soak, which also reduces the sodium content of our meals. We now have 'pulled pork', General Tso's 'Chikn', spicy 'fish or chikn' fajitas, Mongolian 'beef' or 'beef' in orange sauce, chikn Tandoori, sesame 'chikn' 'beef' or 'pork' with noodles, and on and on and on... Lastly, this is a dehydrated whole food. Store them in your bunker for the coming apocalypse. We store ours in the freezer until ready to use, no defrosting required. Whoever invented this method of working with the entire soy bean deserves a Nobel Prize. Is this one of the perfect foods? We sure think so...bon appetit! UPDATE: We now order these in bulk directly from Butler Foods. Even with shipping, the bulk prices are $30 - $45 less than Amazon Prime's prices. With all of the savings, we order even more Butler products! Sorry Amazon, the minions might want to make some price adjustments...ahem.
Jeff McDaniel
These things are awesome. I made a vegan "chik'n" soup with them
These things are awesome. I made a vegan "chik'n" soup with them, and they really do taste like chicken. They are like tofu in the way they absorb the flavor of whatever you put them in (it doesn't taste like tofu). If you don't overcook them, they have a nice chewy texture, reminiscent of chicken. I will be buying again & again. These are fantastic! I love that they are packed with protein as well. I highly recommend.
Sonja Kovacevic
Love these! Great veggie protein and fun to cook with.
Yum! I finally cooked these up (stored them in my freezer until I figured out what to do with them--this will definitely keep them longer). All you have to do is rehydrate them (use a flavorful marinade so they soak it up) for a bit, then cook them up. They can actually get crunchy caramelized outsides. If you have had imitation steak strips in vegetarian restaurants this is basically the same food item. They have a slightly chewy texture and soak up the flavor of whatever you rehydrate and cook them with. I boiled up a pot of water, soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil, dried shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger, cilantro root and green onion (white parts). Once it came to a boil I took it off the heat and added the entire package of soy curls (about 8 servings a bag I believe). After they soaked for an hour, I sauteed up some onions, added the marinated curls (without the sauce--I didn't want water to ruin the browning). Stir occasionally so they don't stick and burn to the pan, adjust seasoning if you want and then they're ready to eat! I made some Vietnamese cilantro dipping sauce to go on top of them and it makes enough lunches and dinners for almost the entire work week (served with rice and a vegetable side). I plan on making curry with the next batch. I think they'll do well in any dish--sauteed, stewed, BBQ style, whatever you can think to use regular meat strips in. They soak up flavor better than tofu and honestly are pretty fun to eat. Considering each bag is about $5 and will make a lot of food, these are a great deal as well. Will keep making lunches with them!
Gabrichidze Nodar
Don't follow the instruction and these babies can be AWESOME!
OK... here's the thing with this stuff. I ordered the 6 pack so I could experiment with it. The package says to "Place bag of Soy Curls in a bowl and cover with water, soak for 10 minutes." Results... DO NOT SOAK IN PLAIN WATER! Not unless you want something that resembles a chewy piece of cooked Styrofoam. Remember... this is a soy based product and it will soak up whatever you add to it. What you want to do is soak the curls in (WARM) seasoned water or, bar-b-que sauce, bean juice, chicken broth, or whatever liquid you can come up with, pre-seasoned to taste and give it about 20 to 30 minutes to really take it all in. Although the instruction tell you to season while cooking I would not recommend this as the seasoning does not penetrate the curls unless you plan on cooking them (Boiling them) for some time. My reason for the 5 star rating? Well, if you do not follow the instructions and soak your curls in something that will give it the predefined taste you are looking for THESE CURLS ARE AWESOME!!!! I've tried a few different seasoning tricks and EVERYONE (My Vegan and Non-Vegan friends) that I have tested these babies on LOVE them and cannot believe they are soy. Let your imagination, taste buds and altering the instructions guide you, and these delicious treats are a winner!
Chetan Anand Singh
Confirmed! Soy curls replaced chicken undetected (except it's WAY healthier)
Best thing ever! I found out about these from Jill McKeever on YouTube since she had recipes for them. I'm not vegan but somehow lost my desire for chicken this year. When I saw Jill's recipes and the reactions of her family members and who couldn't tell whether it was real meat or not, I instantly ordered it. On my first try, I made a marinade recipe that I had always made with chicken - made sure I seasoned up the soy curls and left them in the marinated overnight and baked them covered in the oven the next day. I could tell no difference whatsoever between the taste of chicken and the soy curls. I'm truly blown away! It was soft, tender, had the texture of chicken, except the soy curls definitely felt lighter in my stomach than chicken would (and trust me, I ate a LOT of it!) However, if you don't season up the soy curls really good, it reminds me of the taste of tempeh. I've cooked tempeh quite a bit before and to me, it was difficult to get rid of the soy'ish after-taste. But with soy curls, you can marinade that taste away for sure. I haven't tried soy curls in non-marinade or non-saucy dishes like stir fry etc., so I'm not sure how it would be if not marinated or if not cooked in a stew or sauce. So far, however, I am VERY impressed. Totally wow'ed! Trust me, you can definitely fool omnivores with this one. I plan to keep trying soy curls with all of my previous chicken recipes that I had shelved when I mysteriously lost interest in the taste of chicken. This review is written after my very first attempt at cooking soy curls but I'm already eyeing the 12lb bag to keep in the freezer. I'm pretty sure I've found my chicken replacement. This needs to be in Whole Foods markets everywhere, but for now, I'm SO glad it's here online.
Calvin Parkinson
fooled my non-vegetarian husband 100%!!!
So I got my soy curl for the first time. I bought a one bag to test it out. And I soaked soy for only about 5 mins with some soy sauce. And then put oils on pan and add soy curls and grilled little..and then add my teriyaki sauce, little bit of sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce and boooom!!! It looked so legit!!! I served my husband with some noodles. And he said wow this is good is it a beef or chicken??? I said its....soy! He said what???what do you mean its a soy. It taste like chicken.. He would have never know if I never told him so. He said it was one of best "chicken dish" he ever ate..so plan to buy some more..so much possibility. .but like other viewers said. It needs to be really soaked up the sauce to be perfect..so heavier sauce dishes would work the best. Recommended!! Go vegan!!!
Johannes M. Koch
Thanks Butler Foods!
Amazing! Perfect meaty texture like chicken. I mashed them to look like ground chicken, shred them like pulled pork, left them as strips for stirfry. And made burgers. Super easy. I can't wait to make mock chicken fingers with this. You just have to season the soy curls because they have no flavor of their own. I was pleasantly surprised to find they do NOT taste like tofu. I hate tofu. Before you rehydrate them they taste like bland salt free potato chips. And the texture is a bit like pork rinds. Super crunchy and I like them straight our of the bag. You can crush them in the bag and leave the rest in chunks. You get a very convincing burger that way....Endless possibilities. I recommend rehydrating in a stock. You will get more flavor. Also don't soak them too long or they will be too soft. But they will still be good. I'm so glad I found these. Meals are more satisfying. Soy curls are very filling and one 8 ounce bag yields about 1.5 pounds after you soak them. A small serving is enough because it's so filling. So worth it! Watch Jill Mceever on you tube. She makes soycurls and loves them, too.