TVP Jerky.

 

Those massive $6 bags of flat, square dehydrated TVP at Sun Wah (and similar Chinese grocers) are a goldmine. They look like this, or a variation of the packaging. Rehydrate these to dehydrate them into jerky. Makes sense. 

Ingredients:

4 cups TVP

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup Kikkoman light soy sauce

1/4 cup mushroom / dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

3 tbsp canola or sesame oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 250°F. 

Place TVP in boiling water (or vegetable broth) until fully rehydrated, let cool, squeeze out. 

Mix together water + cornstarch to create a slurry, set side. Mix all other ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil, add in slurry, whisk for 1-2 minutes. Pour marinade over TVP, let ‘em get to know each other in the mixing bowl for 10-30 minutes. 

Using tongs, split the batch between two lined baking sheets. 

Bake for:
1 hour (flipping every 20 min) - yields a little chewier than Noble Jerky 
50 min (flipping every 2-3x) - about Noble chewiness
40 min (flipping 2x) - softer than Noble