Serves a Crowd

Tacos Al Pastor

February  5, 2021
5
1 Ratings
Photo by brokebankvegan
  • Prep time 2 hours 15 minutes
  • Cook time 15 minutes
  • makes 18
Author Notes

It doesn't get any more authentic than this, friends. A traditional tacos al pastor recipe made easy, vegan, and absolutely delicious.

Picture meat-free tacos flavored with spicy guajillo chilies, achiote paste, and fresh pineapple. You won't believe your eyes until you try one! —brokebankvegan

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Ingredients
  • 3 cups dry TVP or soy curls
  • 3 dashes dried guajillo chilies
  • 2 dried chipotle chilies
  • 1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
  • 2 ounces achiote paste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 18 fresh corn tortillas
  • 1/2 white onion, finely diced
  • 1/4 pineapple, chopped
  • 1 cup cilantro
Directions
  1. To begin, bring about 4 cups of water to boil in a kettle. Then, add the textured vegetable protein (TVP) and hot water to a mixing bowl and cover. Set that aside while you prepare the marinade.
  2. (Marinade) To start your marinade, remove the stem and seeds from the chilies. Then, toast them in a skillet over medium-low for 3-5 minutes. Make sure to turn your chilies frequently to prevent burning.
  3. Next, cover them with water and bring to a low boil. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat to simmer for about 12-15 minutes, or until the peppers are softened.
  4. Once the chilies are ready, add them to a blender with the pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, onion, cumin, Mexican oregano, cloves, achiote paste, and salt. Blend until smooth.
  5. Next, transfer your re-hydrated TVP to a strainer to get rid of the excess water (make sure to squeeze it out thoroughly!). Add the TVP to a large container or freezer bag with the marinade over top.
  6. Stir the mixture quite well to ensure the TVP evenly soaks in the marinade. Cover and transfer to your fridge to marinate for at least 2-4 hours, but preferably overnight.
  7. (Tacos) When you're ready to eat, drain the excess marinade off the TVP and preheat 1-2 tbsp of neutral oil in a large skillet over medium. Add in the TVP and fry, stirring occasionally until it's hot and appears slightly matte.
  8. Note: you will have to use two large skillets or cook two batches for this amount of TVP.
  9. Serve immediately on homemade corn tortillas with diced white onion, fresh pineapple chunks, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, and some salsa!

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1 Review

meganvt01 February 5, 2021
Hello! Just wanted to make sure you saw our contest rules (https://food52.com/blog...) and that we would like to see the name and location of the restaurant that inspired your dish in the head note. Thanks!