Episode 40: All Vegetarian Vegan Shrimp

We tried All Vegetarian Shrimp! Here's what we thought of this vegan shrimp and what it's made from.

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All Vegetarian Vegan Shrimp Review
How to cook it
What is it made from?
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bag of All Vegetarian Vegan Shrimp on a white table

All Vegetarian Vegan Shrimp Review

Dave ordered the vegan shrimp from All Vegetarian as part of my big birthday box from GTFO It's Vegan. You might remember this brand, because we reviewed All Vegetarian Vegan Wings on an earlier episode of the pod.

Y'all, oh my WORD! We loved these! Dave and I each tried one plain, then I tossed the rest of the package into a big bowl of avocado pesto pasta with baby kale and chopped tomato.

Dave thought these had the exact flavor and texture he remembers shrimp having. He described them as having a "snap", which I agree they did.

pesto pasta with vegan shrimp, baby kale, and tomatoes

I thought the taste and texture fully satisfied my shrimp craving, but I wouldn't say they were exactly like shrimp. I think a meat eater would be able to tell the difference. But I loved these and definitely plan to order them again!

In the episode, I mentioned a Twitter thread with lots of vegan seafood options. Honestly, it's pretty mind-blowing to look at it all and see where we are. Here is that thread.

How to cook it

The shrimp comes frozen, and the package we received had nary a cooking instruction. Here's how I prepared mine:

transferred the shrimp to a colander and ran hot water over them until the clump separated into individual pieces
put them into a bowl and microwaved them in 30 second bursts until they were thawed

While I was trying to find nutritional information for All Vegetarian Vegan Shrimp, I found another website selling them that did include cooking directions.

That site recommended blanching them in boiling water for 20-30 seconds, then frying them up with garlic until they get crispy. We were eager to try this method, so we got another bag and did it!

Instead of blanching, I microwaved them very briefly to thaw them. Here's what I did to make the vegan garlic shrimp:

Thaw the shrimp in the microwave in 30 second bursts.
Heat 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil in a nonstick pan.
Sauté minced garlic and ginger for just about a minute.
Add the shrimp and cooked until the garlic was crispy.

Dave said that the shrimp didn't super take on the flavors from the pan, and I agree! When I did get bites with pieces of garlic and ginger, though, the flavor was lovely.

What is it made from?

Obviously, there's no shrimp in this shrimp, since shrimp isn't vegan (or vegetarian). So, what is in the bag?

According to GTFO It's Vegan, it contains:

Water, Modified Starch, Sunflower Oil, Glucomannan, Pea Extract, Sea Salt, Seaweed Extract, Brown Sugar.

I'm sensing a trend in vegan seafood! This mix of water, starch, and a little bit of oil seems to be common. That's what Vegan Zeastar Salmon and Vegan Zeastar Calamari both use as the base, and they're similarly realistic.