Our Vegan Filipino Barbecue (BBQ) is equal parts salty, sweet, tangy and irresistible! These simple skewers are sure to be a hit at your next cookout.
🇵🇭 WHAT IS FILIPINO BARBECUE
Filipino barbecue is a mainstay at parties and special occasions. It’s also a popular street food in the Philippines, where street vendors peddle these delectable skewers on makeshift grill carts.
So what are they? Filipino barbecue is traditionally made with thinly sliced pork marinated in a sweet-and-savory blend and then skewered and grilled over charcoal. Serve it with a spicy vinegar dipping sauce. But if you really mean business, pile your plate high with a generous helping of white rice and a side of atchara (Filipino pickled green papaya).
You can use either a store-bought spicy vinegar dipping sauce or make your own. We’ve also included a recipe for you to make your own dipping sauce at home. You can find a store-bought dipping sauce and atchara at an Asian grocery store.
To veganize our family recipe, we traded textured vegetable protein (TVP) for the pork. TVP is basically a soy-based product that’s been defatted and needs to be rehydrated before cooking. Its neutral flavor, meaty texture and affordability make it one of our favorite meat substitutes.
📝 INGREDIENTS
- TVP: Our vegan meat substitute for pork. TVP needs to be rehydrated before cooking. We get our TVP online, and this is the particular product we like using for this recipe, because it’s easy to skewer. Feel free to substitute any soy-based vegan meat substitute that’s easy to skewer.
- Water: To rehydrate the TVP.
- Vegetable bouillon: To season the TVP rehydrating liquid. We like the Edward & Sons or Better Than Bouillon brands.
- Low sodium soy sauce: The base of our marinade. Adds savory umami to our barbecue. We prefer the low sodium variety to better control the salt content in this dish.
- Coconut vinegar: A traditional Filipino vinegar made with (you guessed it!) coconut. It has a sweet aroma and is very forward in acidity, which balances out the sweet elements in the marinade. You can find coconut vinegar at an Asian grocery or online. You can easily substitute this ingredient with plain old white vinegar.
- Banana ketchup: In short, banana ketchup is a certified national treasure in the Philippines. Contrary to its name, it contains no tomatoes! Basically, it’s a condiment that’s made from a combination of bananas, sugar, garlic, and food coloring. It’s sweeter and fruitier than American ketchup, adding that much needed sweetness every barbecue marinade should have. Find it at an Asian grocery store or online. Regular ketchup makes a good substitute.
- Organic brown sugar: Brings molasses-y sweetness to our marinade.
- Lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite or 7-Up): Adds bright citrusy notes and sweetness to our marinade.
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper: To season our marinade.
- Neutral oil: Adds moisture to our TVP, rounds out flavor profiles, and keep sharp or acidic flavors from dominating.
- Garlic: Adds a layer of spicy, pungent flavor to our marinade.
🔪 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare the TVP for cooking: Rehydrate the TVP in hot water seasoned with vegetable bouillon for around 10 minutes. When the TVP has cooled to touch, drain it and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Set aside.
- Make the marinade: Whisk together the marinade ingredients. Set half of the marinade aside to use as a basting sauce.
- Marinade the TVP: Place the TVP into a sealable container. Pour half the marinade over the TVP and stir to coat each piece. (Remember, you set aside the other half of the marinade for basting). Marinate TVP in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or even overnight for the best flavor.
- Grill the TVP: Fire up your grill.
- Option 1: Meanwhile, skewer the TVP. Wrap the skewers in foil, leaving the top open. Place the pouch on indirect heat. Baste the TVP with with the remaining marinade. When nearly all of the marinade is cooked off, remove the skewers from the pouch and briefly place them on the grill over the coals to give them a bit of char.
- Option 2: Instead of skewering the TVP, place it in a foil package and place the package over indirect heat. Baste the TVP with the remaining marinade. Remove the package from the grill when the remaining marinade has cooked off.
DID YOU MAKE OUR VEGAN FILIPINO BARBECUE?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
💕 MORE FILIPINO RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE:
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
VEGAN FILIPINO BARBECUE
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup textured vegetable protein “beef” slices or any soy-based “meat” large enough to be skewered (we used this product)
- 4 cups hot water
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube such as the Edward & Sons brand (or substitute 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon paste, such as the Better Than Bouillon brand)
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon coconut vinegar or substitute white vinegar
- 2 tablespoon banana ketchup or substitute regular ketchup
- 2 tablespoon organic brown sugar
- ¼ cup lemon-lime soda such as Sprite or 7up
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
To serve:
- Steamed jasmine rice
- Spiced vinegar dipping sauce Option 1: store bought. Option 2: mix together 1 cup coconut or white vinegar ¼ cup water, 2 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon organic brown sugar, 1 small finely diced red onion, and 1-2 sliced Thai chiles.
- Atchara aka Filipino pickled mangoes
Instructions
- Prepare the TVP for cooking: Rehydrate the TVP in hot water seasoned with vegetable bouillon for around 10 minutes. When the TVP has cooled to touch, drain it and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Set aside.
- Make the marinade: Whisk together the marinade ingredients. Set half of the marinade aside to use as a basting sauce.
- Marinade the TVP: Place the TVP into a sealable container. Pour half the marinade over the TVP and stir to coat each piece. (Remember, you set aside the other half of the marinade for basting). Marinate TVP in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or even overnight for the best flavor.
Grill the TVP: Fire up your grill
- Option 1: Meanwhile, skewer the TVP. Wrap the skewers in foil, leaving the top open. Place the pouch on indirect heat. Baste the TVP with with the remaining marinade. When nearly all of the marinade is cooked off, remove the skewers from the pouch and briefly place them on the grill over the coals to give them a bit of char.
- Option 2: Instead of skewering the TVP, place it in a foil package and place the package over indirect heat. Baste the TVP with the remaining marinade. Remove the package from the grill when the remaining marinade has cooked off.
These taste just like I remember the (meat version) tasting. SOOOO good.
Whoa! Those TVP strips look insane.