Wheat gluten, tofu skin and vegan cold cut: the three staples of a Vietnamese vegan kitchen

Walk into any market in Saigon and the vegan stall has these three. They appear in almost every mock-meat dish, and many people use all three without knowing which is made from what.

Knowing makes the choosing far better — because these three are not interchangeable.

Mì căn (wheat gluten) — made from wheat

How: wheat flour is mixed with water into a dough, then washed repeatedly under water until all the starch is gone. What remains is a chewy mass of protein — gluten. Boiled or steamed, then cooked.

Texture: chewy and fibrous, pulling apart into strands. This is the most meat-like of the three, and the reason it dominates mock-meat cooking — mock chicken, mock beef, mock ribs are mostly made from it.

Suits: braising, frying, stir-frying, grilling — dishes needing a piece that holds its shape and has some chew.

The thing to remember: mì căn is wheat gluten. For anyone with coeliac disease or avoiding gluten this is absolutely off-limits — and since it is the most familiar vegan ingredient of all, it is also the most common trap.

Tàu hũ ky (tofu skin) — made from soy

How: soy milk is heated and left still until a thin film forms on the surface, which is lifted off and dried. Each batch yields several successive films. It is slow, labour-intensive work, which is why tofu skin is usually the dearest of the three.

Texture: depends on the form. Thin sheets are soft and tear easily; rolled or stick forms are chewy and spongy, and absorb sauce very well.

Suits: rolls, braises, hotpot, slow-cooked dishes. Especially good in anything with liquid, because it draws the sauce inside. Deep-fried it produces a distinctively thin, shattering crust.

No gluten, so it is the replacement for mì căn for anyone avoiding it.

Chả chay (vegan cold cut) — usually soy, but it varies

How: the least uniform group. Most are soy protein mixed with starch, seasoned, pressed into a block and steamed or boiled. Some add wheat gluten for extra chew.

Texture: smooth, firm, sliceable — closer to a pressed cold cut than to shredded meat.

Suits: slicing and eating as is, filling a banh mi, light frying, stir-frying. The most convenient of the three, needing almost no further work.

Two things to read on the label: some commercial vegan cold cut uses egg white as a binder, which full vegans need to avoid. And any version containing wheat gluten contains gluten.

A quick comparison

Why they cannot substitute for one another

All three are plant protein, but three textures make three different dishes:

• Substitute cold cut for wheat gluten in a braise and it falls apart, unable to hold shape through long cooking.
• Substitute wheat gluten for tofu skin in a hotpot and it does not absorb the broth — chewy but bland inside.
• Substitute tofu skin for cold cut in a banh mi and it will not slice neatly and slips out when bitten.

The short rule: wheat gluten for anything that must survive long cooking, tofu skin for anything with liquid, cold cut for anything eaten as is.

On nutrition

All three are plant protein sources, but they differ:

• Wheat gluten is very high in protein but short of one amino acid (lysine), so it pairs well with pulses.
• Tofu skin is high in protein and in good fat, being the concentrated part of soy milk.
• Vegan cold cut varies — a starch-heavy version has considerably less protein than one built mainly on soy protein. This is where reading the panel pays.

This is general information and does not replace advice from a doctor or dietitian.

What the shops use

Banh Mi XANH uses fried tofu and soy-based vegan cold cut — not wheat gluten. For anyone avoiding gluten, the filling contains none, but the crust is still wheat flour, so the loaf as a whole still contains gluten.

The five shops are open 24 hours: 38 Lê Thị Riêng, 15B Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, 2B Trần Hưng Đạo and 148B Đề Thám in District 1, and 210 Bùi Văn Ba in District 7. Call 0923.183.183; orders from 500,000d within 5km are delivered free.

Quick questions

What is mì căn made from?

Wheat flour. A dough is washed repeatedly until all the starch is gone, leaving a chewy mass of gluten. So mì căn is pressed wheat gluten.

Which one can somebody avoiding gluten eat?

Tofu skin contains none. Wheat gluten is absolutely off-limits. Vegan cold cut varies — read the label, because some versions add wheat gluten.

How is tofu skin made?

Soy milk is heated and the thin film that forms on the surface is lifted off and dried. It is slow, labour-intensive work, which is why it is usually the dearest of the three.

Does vegan cold cut contain egg?

It varies. Some commercial versions use egg white as a binder, so full vegans have to read the label. Versions without it bind with starch.

Can the three substitute for one another?

No, because the textures differ. Wheat gluten for anything surviving long cooking, tofu skin for anything with liquid since it absorbs broth, cold cut for anything eaten as is because it slices neatly.

Which does Banh Mi XANH use?

Fried tofu and soy-based vegan cold cut, not wheat gluten. The filling contains no gluten, but the crust is wheat flour so the loaf as a whole still does.