Delicious ways to go vegan

Use coconut, Vegemite or fruit to whip up tasty alternatives to meat and milk

WHETHER you skip meat and dairy for environmental, animal or simply taste preference reasons, there’s no need to completely overhaul your cooking.

Chef Warren Mendes shares his top ingredients that make for a great meat or dairy replacement.

Coconut cream

If you’re craving a creamy treat, all you have to do is grab a can of coconut cream and leave it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, scoop off the top layer and simply whip it up like you would usual thickened cream.

Coconut yoghurt

Mendes recommends using coconut yoghurt in place of regular dairy yoghurt, as the consistency of this ingredient is thick and rich.

Custard

You can still make delicious custard by using cornflour as a thickener, instead of egg, and using any type of nut milk in place of regular milk.

Vegemite

A household favourite, Vegemite can be used to create all sorts of savoury wonders and is the star ingredient in vegan gravy.

Mendes says making sauces with Vegemite are sure to take your vegan condiments to the next level.

Ice cream

You can easily make your own dairy-free ice cream by freezing some bananas, chopping them up and giving them a whiz in a food processor, add a dash of maple syrup and you have instant vegan-friendly ice cream.

Agar-agar

If you want to make jelly but can’t use gelatine, Mendes recommends using agar-agar instead. It has a slightly different texture to gelatine, so Mendes advises to test it in your recipe beforehand.

Nut butter

For a protein hit, try adding some nut butter to your cooking. Mendes says it will also add a touch of richness to any dish.

Dried porcini

Mushrooms are a well-known meat replacement, but the dried variety are great for boosting flavour.

“Simply soak them in water and they add real punch to any recipe,” Mendes says.