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A veganized version of mouth-watering and flavor-packed Filipino Barbecue. It’s made with the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and savory ingredients and is perfect for any gathering. This recipe is easy to prepare and will blow anyone who tries it away, vegan or not!
Inihaw (also known as sinugba or inasal) are different barbecue dishes from the Philippines, usually made from pork or chicken. You can serve them on bamboo skewers or in small pieces with a dipping sauce (sawsawan). They are commonly sold as street food and are also known as Filipino barbecue or Pinoy barbecue.
Various types of barbecue exist in the Philippines, but today I am making a veganize version of Filipino pork-style barbecue.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Soy curls: We decided to use soy curls as the vegan meat substitute in this recipe. We also tested this recipe with ready-made seitan, and it didn’t perform as well as the soy curls, so we recommend the former over the latter.
- Vegan beef broth: Adds “beefy” flavor without using meat. We like to use this one.
- Soy sauce: The salty, umami-packed flavor bomb of a condiment helps this barbecue build depth of flavor. You can also opt for tamari, which tastes like soy sauce, but is gluten-free.
- Banana ketchup: Don’t let the name scare you off! Although this sauce is made with bananas, it doesn’t taste like bananas after they are cooked down. If you cannot find banana ketchup or don’t want to make your own, you can opt for regular tomato ketchup.
- Calamansi juice: Calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is a vital citrus hybrid cultivated in the Philippines. The flavor can be described as a tart combination of lemon, lime, and orange. Opt for lemon juice or lime juice if you don’t have access.
- Vinegar: We used apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar works.
- Fresh garlic: do not skimp on the garlic!! You need A LOT for this recipe, but trust me, it is essential!
- Brown sugar: Some recipes use lemon soda (7-up, Sprite, or even ginger ale) in the marinade as it both tenderizes the meat and adds sweetness. Since this is a vegan recipe, I realized tenderizing was unnecessary, so I opted for just sugar, and it worked out perfectly!
- Vegan Oyster sauce: Although there are no oyster sauce products labeled “vegan,” those labeled vegetarian are vegan-friendly! We use this brand.
- Sesame oil: This ingredient is optional but recommended as it adds depth of flavor and umami to the dish.
- Ground black pepper
- Red Chili Flakes: Optional but recommended if you want a kick of spice! You can opt for fresh peppers as well, depending on your preference.
How To Serve Filipino Barbecue
You can serve the barbecue in small pieces with rice (or even better, garlic fried rice) and a side of sawsawan made by combining soy sauce, vinegar, onion, black pepper, garlic, spicy peppers, and sugar. It also pairs well with a small glass of beer. If you’re looking for a Filipino beer to try, San Miguel Beer is great.
The barbecue can also be served on bamboo skewers, as pictured above!
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Large cast-iron skillet
- Tongs or slotted spoon
- Spatula or wooden spoon
Are you looking for other vegan Filipino recipes?
- Pandesal (Filipino Bread Rolls)
- Banana Cue (Filipino Fried Caramelized Bananas)
- Filipino Scrambled Eggs
- Pancit Bihon
- Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino Spring Rolls)
- Bistek Tagalog (Filipino Beef Steak)
- Siopao Asado
Tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes; we love to see your photos!
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Vegan Filipino Barbecue
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A veganized version of mouth-watering and flavor-packed Filipino Barbecue. It’s made with the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and savory ingredients and is perfect for any gathering! This recipe is easy to prepare and will blow anyone who tries it away, vegan or not!
Ingredients
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 teaspoon vegan beef bouillon paste
- 2 cups soy curls
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup banana ketchup (or regular ketchup)
- 2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons calamansi juice or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon vegan oyster sauce
- Optional: 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Large cast-iron skillet
- Tongs or slotted spoon
- Spatula or wooden spoon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the hot water and vegan beef bouillon paste.
- Add the soy sauce, banana ketchup (or regular ketchup), garlic, brown sugar, calamansi juice or lemon juice, white vinegar, vegan oyster sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ground black pepper. Mix everything until uniform.
- Add in the soy curls, mix and set aside to marinate for 10-15 minutes, or up to overnight if you are not cooking this the same day.
- Grab a large cast-iron skillet (or a large skillet of your choice) and set it over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil.
- Using tongs, slowly remove the curls from the bowl, reserving the marinade in the bowl. Cook for a few minutes, or until it begins to brown.
- Begin adding the marinade, 1/2 cup at a time, and cook. Once the first batch of broth cooks off, add in the next and continue this process until you have cooked off all of the liquid. Make sure you cook off the full 1/2 cup before adding in the next batch! Continue to cook until the barbecue begins to char to your liking.
- Set the barbecue aside and allow it to cool. If you would like, you can transfer the barbecue to skewers for presentation purposes, but its not necessary.
- Serve with rice and dipping sauces of your choice and enjoy!
Notes
- Some recipes use lemon soda (7-up, orSprite) or even ginger ale in the marinade as it both tenderizes the meat and adds sweetness. Since this is a vegan recipe, tenderizing was unnecessary, so I opted for just sugar, which worked out perfectly!
- We did not add any additional salt to this recipe as both the soy sauce and broth added enough for our liking. However, if you want more, feel free to season it with salt to taste.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Filipino
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This was beyond amazing! I let the soy curls marinate overnight, then cooked them for lunch. I have an extra-large skillet, so I had doubled the recipe, and total cooking time was about an hour (patience is the key). I let the soy curls cook in the oil for about 10 minutes, flipping them until there was only the smallest amount of liquid left before beginning to add the marinade a half cup at a time. I let each round go 5 mins, then flipped all the soy curls, then set a 1 minute timer, and that was enough time to then add the next half cup of marinade. The result was a semi-sticky, dark, beefy soy curl that tasted phenomenal, and the texture was truly, truly beef-like. Only negative was that it was very salty, so next time I will remember to use low-sodium soy sauce. We served it with steamed broccoli and white rice (mixing it all together), which cut down on the saltiness a little. Next time I will add snow peas and carrots as well. The combos are endless. Thank you!
Love this – so full of flavor and soy curls have a great texture!
Can someone tell me how much this serves ? I’m serving at an event for 50 ppl and need to know
We estimate a single recipe will serve around 6-8 people!
This was so delicious! First time using soy curls and I am converted.
My boyfriend and I make this all the time because it’s so good. It’s such a simple recipe that packs a lot of flavor. Can’t recommend enough.
This was freaking amazing! It definitely brought me back to eating pork bbq back in the Philippines. I haven’t cooked a lot of Filipino vegan/vegetarian dishes since I became vegetarian but this is really spot on. I paired this with some picked cucumbers and mango/tomato salad. Yummy! Even my boyfriend who’s white loved it!
Wow! This was so good. The sawsawan sauce really takes the dish to the next level. Completely addictive flavours. I’ll try to find banana ketchup and calamansi for next time we make this. I think we should be able to find those in our city.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe and genius cooking method for the soy curls. 👍🏼👍🏼
This is so good, I love the leftovers in a wrap.
Did you soak the soy curls before cooking them? I’ve never eaten them before. This looks delicious!
They will rehydrate as you marinate them!
This is really good. Mine didn’t come out quite as “glazy” as the photo in the recipe, but still delicious. I would love to take the time to actually skewer them and put them on the grill and see how they come out.
Absolutely delicious! I didn’t have soy curls, so I used TVP in chunks and worked.