TOPMOST photo: Chef Robby Goco’s meat-free Imam Bayildi (left) and Chef Florabel Co-Yatco’s chicken-free tinola impress carnivores; Monde Nissin chief marketing officer Rufino Tiam-Lee, Chefs Robby and Florabel, and Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto
THIS Monday, June 13, marks the annual observance of World Meat Free Day, and some Pinoy chefs are ready to celebrate the day the best way they know how.
Proponents of the World Meat Free Day, according to the worldmeatfreeday.com website, ask the global community to pledge to give up eating meat even for just a day in a year. This, they say, represents a small step toward the eventual shunning of meat 24/7, especially when those that do try to forego or minimize animal-based products enjoy numerous physical and mental benefits, as well as giving the planet, the ecosystems of which have been strained due to human overpopulation and livestock overproduction, a much-needed breather. (The human population is set to rise by over 30 percent by 2050, and the demand for meat of nearly 10 billion mouths by that time cannot simply be met).
According to the website, an individual giving up meat for just one meal would save enough carbon emissions to boil a kettle full of water 388 times.
It was at the Madrid Fusion held April 7 to 9 in SMX Convention Center where Inquirer Science and Health met two of the top chefs in Manila who professed that they were able to impress even the most hardcore carnivores by creating delicious vegetarian fare such as meat-free Imam Bayildi, pintxos (a classic Spanish tapa), tinola, adobo, bolognese, minced salpicao, longganisa, tapa, pork and beef, nuggets, sausages—all without using any meat (beef, pork, nor chicken). These two chefs hinted that they would be making available what they prepared here in their restaurants soon.
Chefs Florabel Co-Yatco and Robby Goco made no secret of their ingredient, mycoprotein (made by Quorn, a British-origin brand newly acquired by Philippine-based Monde Nissin), produced via air fermentation of the fusarium filamentous fungus, and which contains all the essential amino acids. Mycoprotein has a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score of 0.996, close to ideal for the human body, and considered better than beef protein.
Mycoprotein is also known to prevent diabetes and obesity, according to recent studies from researchers of the Nutrition and Dietetic Research Group at Imperial College London.
Yatco is a multiawarded chef and owner of a chain of restaurants that include Crisostomo, Felix, Florabel, Elias and Corazon. Goco is director for research and development and managing partner of Cyma Restaurants and Green Pastures.
Yatco said that it would be easy for her now to shift to plant-based food because of her discovery of mycoprotein.
“Personally, I can shift (to meat-free dishes) since mycoprotein is very versatile. Your objective is to achieve the taste of some of the dishes such as picadillo or salpicao flavor,” Yatco said.
She added, “Mycoprotein can be used for soup, as minced giniling, lumpiang shanghai, ‘chili Quorn karne,’ bolognese pasta, or lasagna. My daughter loves miswa with bola-bola. I used Quorn mycoprotein (for all those dishes). My husband is a carnivore, so I prepared hamburger using Quorn.”
She revealed that during the Madrid Fusion, she made use of Quorn’s “chicken” bites or nuggets as a substitute for real chicken. “It was very good. you couldn’t tell the difference. The same goes for the adobo salpicao, Japanese teriyaki, Filipino adobo.”
Goco, for his part, admitted that he was hesitant to use mycoprotein at first, but after extensive research, he concluded, “It is not genetically modified, and fungus is organic, pesticide-free, chemical free. It’s about time to cook using this without sacrificing the flavor.”
Goco added: “I have been thinking of becoming vegetarian myself. I promised myself that when I turn 50, I’m going to be vegan. I know that someday we’re going to run out of meat.”