Vegan Steak Strips that really Sizzle!

A friend of mine asked me how to make really good vegan steak strips. Funny you should ask!!!! First off, there are many vegetarian steak strip varieties on the market, but would-be-vegans beware: Morningstar -- a subsidiary of Kellog's Foods -- makes both a vegetarian steak strip and a vegan option. My experience is that the vegan strips are harder to find, and a little on the dry side, but that's just an occupational hazard. Morningstar's strips are probably my favorite, though I seldom buy them due to the fact that their animal-based ingredients -- egg & dairy -- are not advertised as being organic and/or free-range. A bag of Morningstar also costs circa $4, and I rip through a whole bag at each meal. That adds up. Enter, Trader Joe's. They make a vegan steak strip that's not big on flavor -- I'll help you fix that in a few sentences -- but that costs $3/pack. 15 meals per week = $60/month savings. Just sayin... Also, Light Life makes wonderful fake-chicken/steak strips that are great for making a chewy, steak/chicken sandwich of sorts. I think their overall texture and consistency makes them a great forerunner in the vegan steak world. Plus, they come from an all-vegetarian company, so unlike, say, Kellog's, it leads this blogger to think that Light Life cares about the cause, and not just the market. In fact, when doing a news piece on vegetarianism in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, Light Life was the only company that responded to my requests for products to showcase in my story. Bonus points for the fine folks at Light Life. http://www.lightlife.com/index.jsp Now then, as promised, how to make some tasty vegan steak strips.... If you have frozen strips, the key is to drop them into a frying pan that's pre-heated. Pour a couple of tablespoons of your favorite oil in there -- I've been using canola oil instead of olive oil (read my post on canola oil to find out why!) -- and then toss your individually separated strips into the warm oil. There should be a satisfying sizzle if done correctly. Once these bad boys have begun to brown -- this will give the outside a "skillet seared" feeling, while leaving the inside soft and "juicy" from the oil -- dust them with kosher salt, and crank the heat from medium to medium-high for around a minute. This will bond the salt to the steak. I like to squeeze a fresh lime on mine, garnish with your favorite greenery, and you're ready to go. If you're using non-frozen strips: First, I pre-heat the pan. This is an essential step, much like pre-heating an oven. I empty a package of strips into a plastic food container, pour in a couple of tablespoons of oil, and pour in a blend of 3-4 manly pinches of kosher salt, some fresh-ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and anything else my heart desires. Shake this goodness like a madman - or woman - and dump the whole thing into your warm, waiting pan. It should sizzle immediately if your pan is hot enough (see my post titled "Cooking 101") Bon apetit!