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Soy Curl Shawarma

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.
Course Main Course
Keyword dinner, gluten free, shawarma, soycurls, vegan
Prep Time - 20 minutes
Cook Time - 20 minutes
Total Time - 37 minutes
Servings - 4 people

Ingredients

Shawarma Blend

  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon all spice
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric

Soy Curl Marinade

  • 2 cups soy curls
  • 1/4 cup dried shiitake (or other dried mushrooms, rough chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 2 tablespoons vegan worchestershire
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 2 cups boiling water

Cooked Ingredients

  • 1 large yellow onion (thinly sliced)
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons shawarma blend

Serving Ingredients (Optional)

  • 4 toasted pitas
  • Finely chopped lettuce
  • Diced tomato
  • 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.

Notes

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.