Plant Based Meat Review : Phuture Meat

Today, I’ll be trying another plant based meat by Phuture Meat.

Phuture Meat, is another Malaysian born Plant Based Food start up, with its flagship product being the first Halal Certified Plant Based Pork Meat in Asia!

Being Halal Certified means it’s a stamp of approval, indicating the product is in adherence to Islamic Laws and therefore suitable for consumption for Muslims (it’s the equivalent of Kosher for the Jewish) which is a pretty big deal in a Muslim majority country.

Truthfully in Asia, traditional mock meat has been around for a very long time. Many Indians and Chinese especially, are vegetarian for religious reasons. However, most traditional mock meats tend to be made with wheat gluten and didn’t quite taste like meat.

Fortunately with better technology, most of the plant based meats claim to be packed with proteins, and can mimic the texture and structure of actual meat. So it’s definitely nice to see a wider range of alternatives in the market 🙂

Phuture Meat offers a pretty wide range of offerings – from the easy to cook (minced meats, patties, sausages), to special Asian dimsum replacements (this is really interesting because in the world of Dimsum, pork is a main feature) and ready to go meals like the local delicacy – Pratha with Curry.

For more info about the company you can check out the interview of the Co-founder on BFM here.

So I purchased the Phuture Mince (Pork Meat Substitute) from Jaya Grocer, PJ for RM30 but you can also find it on Vegan District. Although I didn’t get their Burger Patty, comparing its prices to the competitors like Beyond Meat and Pacific Greens (that I previously reviewed), it’s certainly on the more premium range – alongside Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger.

I also compared the calories count to that of minced meat vs burger patties and this is about 105cals/100 g vs patties’ 250cals, mainly because it has less fat content so it’s probably better to opt for minced meat if you are weight conscious.

Looking at the ingredients, it seems like the meat is rich in protein, with sources being a mix of:

Rice
Chickpea
Pea
Mushroom

To put the meat to a taste & texture test, I will be making a simple and quick Spaghetti Bolognese! The original recipe is from RecipeTinEats, which I have simplified (cause I’m lazy lol)

Ingredients:

Serving size: 2

Spaghetti (one portion of spaghetti can be measured using your finger and thumb in the shape of an “OK” sign- true story)
1/3 of a brown onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of olive oil
80ml of white wine (I used moscato which is sweet wine cause I noticed some recipes add sugar for a tinge of sweetness and also cause this is the only wine in my house lol)
200g of canned tomato
2 tbsp of tomato paste (I ended up adding the regular pasta sauce as a paste to thicken it up)
4-5 Sliced cherry tomatoes (optional)
Rosemary & Basil spices
Salt & pepper

Step-by-Step guide:

Stir fry your onions and garlic until caramelised
Add the meat of your choice, cook under high heat till brown and break it apart (in this case I found Phuture minced meat was a bit more clumpy – maybe cause it’s intended to be faux pork not beef? Also as you can see, it looks extremely pale before I started cooking it)
Add the wine, stir and mix it until the alcohol smell is gone
Add the canned tomato, tomato paste and spices and let it simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally
Add salt and pepper at the end

You’re done!

I think my Spaghetti bolognese sauce was a bit thicker than anticipated but overall it tasted good! The meat’s texture is convincing and complemented the sauce well. However, I did feel like taste wise, there was a distinctive taste that just felt less convincing. Like When I smell it, I am not entirely convinced I’m eating meat. I’m not sure if it’s because of stronger smell of peas (its primary ingredient).

So for its price point, unfortunately I’d say I would not repurchase.

Nevertheless, happy to be living in a day and age where there are tons of plant based choices! 🙂

Can be found at : List of stores in Malaysia