Plant Basics Chunks

I come at this from a different perspective than the typical buyer of faux meat. I am not a vegan. I am coming at this from a prepper perspective and as someone that likes to make their house more efficient. I love the taste and texture of this product... after I add some tallow, bacon grease, meat drippings, hamburger grease, beef broth. You get the idea. It is fairly easy to use. Soak it in a broth plus seasonings marinade until it is rehydrated. Dry it off and roll it in some flour plus seasoning. Drop it in a pan of hot grease. Get that sear and it is done. It will taste like beef, bacon or what ever meat flavor you rehydrate it with. It has a bit of a spongey texture, but it is a nice chew and the sear really sells it. Now on to the frugal kitchen stuff. The price per ounce seems a little high, but remember you are getting about 3-4x the dry weight once you prep it. The chunks themselves have almost no flavor to them, which makes a good starting canvas. The only thing missing is the meat broth and meat fats, and that is where the frugality comes in. I save up my drippings from rabbit, hamburgers, steaks, bacon n sausage n egg fry ups, broiled meats especially. In those drippings is everything I need to flavor and reconstitute some of the faux meat chunks. Spatchcocked rabbit one day and faux rabbit tacos the next. Kind of like a meat extender. As a prepper I love this stuff. I can take some dry beef bullion, dry taco seasoning, dehydrated refried beans, canned salsa, canned cheese, and long shelf life tortillas to make an emergency ration burrito that is better than any fast food offerings. So long as you have fresh water, a cast iron pan, and an open fire, you can have a really nice meal. Packs well too. I just made the said burritos with a cup of these chunks and previously mentioned ingredients and it fed two of us. You could pack a meal for 4-8 in a lunchbox. Great for camping and road trips as well. Far cheaper and better than any MRE burrito, but you do need a basic kitchen of some sort.

I made the soup recipe listed on the packaging. I used the Better Than Bouillon vegetable base, veggies, pasta, and unflavored chunks. The soup was delicious and the now flavored chunks were also delicious but very spongy, I thought Meh and put it in the refrigerator. The next day I tried the soup again and it seemed that the proteins has set up overnight and had a great texture. I was impressed with the chunks and intend on trying different recipes. I am not a vegetarian, so I will also try some meat flavorings as well. I intend on hydrating different flavors and keeping them in the refrigerator as indicated on the product packaging. Storage of this dried product is very convenient.

We really are enjoying this product! Tip; 1. let it soak in Better than Boullion for about 30-35 minutes, then drain before use. Can store in this way in the fridge for a few days; 2. Only make what you’ll need (we use 2 handfuls of the product and about a heaping teaspoon of boullion- feeds at least 3 people); 3. don’t let it boil for more than 15 minutes or so or it get either tough or rubbery! After reconstituting We like it in stir fry, pot pies, burritos/tacos, in soups (it’s the last item in), or in a super quick dish with wilted baby kale or spinach (we like it wilted in butter and olive oil), a rinsed can of garbanzo beans, fresh garlic to taste, a can of diced tomatoes with the juice, a cup or so of these reconstituted babies from the fridge and some sea salt. Maybe some toast and cheese on the side and it’s wonderful! Maybe a squeeze of lemon sometimes for variation!

Love these! My husband said it tastes just like meat! Have to season and drain really well.

Good for the price but had a hard time getting that taste to neutralize. It made everything taste like soy even though I soaked it and rinsed it a few times...

I've used other companies Soy Curls & TVP with great results, so I was happy to try a different shape. I ordered the Plant Basics' Hearty Plant Protein Chunks which I felt like I could use for soups or other recipes that typically call for cubed pieces of "meat". I followed the directions for rehydrating them (which is about 2-5 minutes longer than other similar products). Then I used them in my recipe & everything seemed great til I tried to bite into it. The texture was extremely rubbery. I feel like I would've had better results using the old school block pencil erasers. I tried returning them which wasn't allowed since it was an opened food product but then I reached out to Plant Basics through 2 different platforms (here & IG) and I still never heard back from them. Since it's been over a month I decided to at least try to save others from running into this same issue. My suggestion is to buy Butler Soy Curls & Bob's Red Mill TVP

I like these soy chunks. Seasoning needed. Texture delightful. I put them in lots of recipes

use it weekly frequently in making my gruel!!