I have talked before about the Vietnamese Heo Lát Chay vegetarian pork slices. They are great for all sorts of dishes, but did you know that they also pull apart quite nicely into strands.
To reconstitute them I made a really simple stock using a mushroom flavoured MSG-based bouillon that I have. This is used a lot in Vietnam, but you may not be a fan of MSG so any stock, or even just water, should do. (If you had Bo Lát Chay - vegetarian beef slices - then a Meat Free OXO cube would be great!)
I used just 8 slices, enough for 2 large sandwiches. They were allowed to soak for about 30 minutes and then drained and well squeezed.
At this stage they can be easily shredded into strips. I marinaded these for just a few minutes in a sauce of one tablespoon of oil, one tablespoon of soy sauce, one teaspoon of liquid smoke and a teaspoon of maple syrup. The shreads readily absorbed the mix.
I heated a wide pan on medium-high and then added the strips with a pinch of salt, stir frying them until they were nicely browned.
I did let them cool for a few minutes before adding to a sandwich of cheese (Mark's & Spencer Plant Kitchen), spinach and tomato. I topped them off with some vegan mayo and a little French's mustard.