This vegan recipe for shawarma using soy curls will become your new favorite. Aromatic, flavorful, and really easy. This recipe is for the "meat" which starts with a unique marinade that gives the dish far more flavor than just a dusting of seasoning.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp all spice
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric
Soy curl marinade
- 2 cups soy curls
- 1/4 cup dried shiitake (or other dried mushrooms, rough chopped)
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp vegan worcestershire
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 cups boiling water
Cooked ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion (thinly sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp shawarma blend
Serving ingredients (optional)
- 4 toasted pitas
- Finely chopped lettuce
- Diced tomato
- Vegan tzatziki (not a shawarma topping but it's delicious)
- Olives
Instructions
- Whisk together all spices in the shawarma blend and set aside. You can use a mortar and pestle, spice grinder, or just a whisk/fork.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the dried shiitake, parsley, nutritional yeast, worchestershire, apple cider vinegar, cumin, liquid smoke, and boiling water. Stir in the soy curls, let sit for 5 minutes, then stir again. Let sit for a total of 10-15 minutes. They won't be hurt by soaking longer.
- Before draining the soy curls, reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade liquid. Set aside to use in the next step. Instead of squeezing the soy curls to remove liquid, simply strain so that the curls are still well hydrated.
- In a large non-stick frying pan cook the sliced onion over high heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, and shawarma blend. Cook for 3-5 minutes while stirring. Add in the reserved marinade liquid. Stir in soaked soy curls, drizzle with olive oil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- You're ready to serve and eat! Prior to placing on a pita sprinkle a little shawarma blend on the soy curls, a squeeze of lemon, and a few cracks of black pepper.
The two most important parts of this recipe are the marinade and browning or caramelizing the onions. These ingredients and steps give the soy curls, which are flavorless on their own, a lot of umami and aromatics.