Other weird vegan ingredients (apart from tofu)
OK, so these aren't specifically vegan ingredients, and depending on what you're used to these might not actually be weird to you, but here are a few ingredients you might not have heard of that sometimes come up in vegan recipes.
If you're looking for tofu, look here.
For anything that also has a 'normal' version, (e.g. vegan mayonnaise), look here.
Egg replacer
An egg-free powder that can be used to replace the function of eggs in certain recipes, such as in baking.
Depending on your recipe, there are various other ingredients which can be used instead of eggs, such as silken tofu (in cakes and quiches), firm tofu (for scrambled 'egg'), mashed banana (cakes), ground flax seeds (cookies and anything else chewy) and bicarbonate of soda or baking powder (sponge cakes and pancakes).
A condiment with a slightly cheesy taste which can be sprinkled onto or into various dishes and sauces.
A super-nutritious grain originating from South America. It is a complete protein containing all the essential amino acids and is also rich in iron, calcium and other vitamins and minerals.
Seitan
Wheat gluten. Looks similar to meat chunks in appearance and can be used as a meat substitute. It is used in some Chinese, Japanese or Buddhist recipes, sometimes referred to as 'mock duck' or other mock meats.
Vegan sausage mix made from textured vegetable protein. It comes dried in sachets and is made up using cold water. When I use this to make sausage rolls for parties, no-one ever seems to notice that they don't contain meat unless I tell them! Supermarkets sometimes stock it in the free from section, or you can get it from wholefoods shops or Holland and Barrett.
Japanese wheat-free dark soy sauce. Generally contains fewer additives than Chinese soy sauce.
Tamarind paste
Sweet-sour paste made from the pulp of the tamarind fruit. Used to add sharpness and sourness to some South-East Asian dishes.
My favourite brand of frozen soya mince, made by RealEat and commonly available in supermarkets and Holland and Barrett. Morrisons and Tesco also do a vegan own-brand frozen soya mince. Beware other brands as they may not be vegan. You can also get dried soya mince, or TVP, but personally I prefer the frozen ones. Dried soya mince doesn't behave exactly the same as frozen, so be careful if substituting one for the other in recipes.