Gordon Ramsays vegan bacon is a revelation in summer BLTs
I never thought I would utter the following words, but here goes: Thank you, Gordon Ramsay.
A few years ago, Ramsay posted a TikTok for his version of a vegan BLT, and, no, it wasn’t just an LT. He started by showing how he makes vegan “bacon” with rice paper. The first time I saw a reference to it, I figured it was pretty much the same idea I had tried a few years before: whisking up a smoky-salty-sweet marinade for rice paper strips and baking them until crisp. Been there, done that, liked it.
In fact, rice paper has been one of my go-to approaches when I want this type of crispy strip to crumble onto pastas, salads, grain bowls or soups; to stack into sandwiches; and to just snack on, straight off the sheet pan. But I also have loved making such strips from large coconut flakes and from thinly sliced carrots, tofu, tempeh, eggplant and mushrooms. They each have a distinct appeal: Some are a little chewier, some a little crisper, some a little fattier, some a little leaner.
Advertisement
End of carouselRamsay’s recipe, meanwhile, has lived on all over the internet for years, thanks to his 40 million-plus followers on TikTok, no doubt. But I’m not one of them, so it wasn’t until I recently ran across a take on his take that I started to fully appreciate it for its genius. Ramsay stuffs crumbled tofu between the layers of rice paper, adding a little chewiness to the super-crisp texture and, in the process, some protein, too. I found myself intrigued all over again, especially when I saw the result, which may resemble pork bacon more closely than virtually any other plant-based version I’ve seen.
And yet. Ramsay presses the tofu first to get out extra liquid, something I rarely do anymore. He cuts the rice paper into strips, then dips them in the marinade one at a time before sprinkling on the tofu and topping with the second layer of strips. All that struck me as just too fussy. I knew I could simplify it.
playPlay nowNaN min
Podcast episode
Spotify
Apple
Amazon
The tofu-pressing step was the first to go; I just patted it dry. And did I really need to stir more marinade into the tofu if the rice paper was dripping in it? Nope. Perhaps most importantly, rather than cutting the rice paper first, I brushed the whole sheets with the marinade on each side, sprinkled the tofu on one sheet and topped it with the other. Only then did I cut the strips. I skipped the wire rack approach for baking, because I knew the rice paper would crisp up without it, so I transferred the stuffed strips right to a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Share this articleShareI loved the bumpy, bubbly look of the strips, and how the tofu gave more meatiness (if you’ll excuse that analogy) to the texture. Pork bacon, after all, is anything but monotonous to eat, and this is similarly multidimensional.
If there’s one thing I hear most frequently from readers, it’s that they’re looking for plant-based recipes that still pack some protein, so when I layered this “bacon” into sandwiches, I made another departure from Ramsay’s approach: Instead of a basil aioli, I made a quick white bean spread. Another texture, more nutrition.
Advertisement
I can’t say I’ll never make another kind of “bacon” again. I do still love the taste (and fat!) of the one I make from coconut, the look of the carrot one, the chew of the versions made from mushrooms and eggplant. And I’m sure some other approach will make itself known to me. But, for now, if there’s one homemade vegan “bacon” to rule them all, this one looks like it — and that alone might be enough to make me hit the follow button on Gordon Ramsay’s TikTok account.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLOwu8NoaWlqZGR9eHuQbmavnZeWu26uwJymp2WXpL%2Blu81mqZqlo5bGbsDOn6xmqpmYsm68wKmcq2WSocFuv8Cnm7Chk518