Vegetarian Peppered “Goat”

This vegetarian peppered goat is a meat-free alternative to a Nigerian classic (asun/spicy goat) that is delicious, spicy and easy to make.

What is Pepper Goat?

If you are familiar with Yoruba food, there are a series of spicy protein sides that are incredibly popular side dishes. We have peppered snails, gizdodo (gizzard and plantains) as well as asun. These dishes are made with a base of hot and sweet peppers, onions, spices and various animal proteins. They are finger-licking good and will have you coming back for more.

This vegetarian pepper “goat” is a cross between asun and peppered snails. Asun generally features goat meat as the star with small amounts of chopped peppers, spices and hot pepper. Peppered snail or gizzard is usually cooked in a base of blended peppers, onions, hot pepper and spices. My recipe uses this peppered snail base to add bulk and flavour while also bringing a goaty texture.

What you will need for this recipe.

There are three major components of the dish that make it delicious

• Vegetarian “Goat”: I purchased dry soya chunks from my local afro-Caribbean store BUT Butler’s Soy Curls works perfectly for this. If you do not have access to these, you can use firm tofu that you have frozen, thawed, and pressed all the liquid out
• Pepper Base: the pepper base combines a mixture of sweet and hot pepper with onion, ginger and garlic. You can adjust the heat of the pepper base by removing some of the spicy peppers and increasing the sweet peppers.
• Spices: I kept this simple and used better than the bouillon vegetarian base, a barbecue-based all-purpose seasoning (click here), curry powder and some fresh thyme. You can season this dish however you like, but make sure it is well seasoned

How to make Vegetarian Peppered “Goat”

• Make a marinade with hot water, better than bouillon paste, barbecue all-purpose seasoning and minced garlic.
• Soak the soya chunks in the marinade for about 1 hour
• Fry the soya chunks with onions till brown
• Add in the pepper base and a little bit of the marinade
• Cook for 10 minutes
• Enjoy

FAQ + Substitutions

• Soya Chunks: Firm tofu that has been frozen and thawed can work perfectly for this dish. You just need to reduce the amount of water (just enough room temperature water to dissolve the marinade spices — about 1/3 cup)
• All-Purpose barbecue seasoning: you can substitute with a combination of 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1/3 tsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 garlic powder, 1/3 tsp of dried oregano.
• Reducing the spiciness: You can remove all the spicy peppers and sub for another small red bell pepper.

What to enjoy this dish with

• Tastiest Vegan Jollof Rice
• Summer Fonio Salad
• Ghanaian Fried Rice

If you like this recipe, please leave a comment below and tag me on social medai (@eatwithafia on instagram and tik tok)

Print Recipe

Vegetarian Peppered Goat

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Nigerian

Keyword: asun, nigerian food, pepper goat

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tbsp of better than bouillon vegetable base
• 1 tbsp of barbecue all-purpose seasoning I purchase mine from Flaev Co
• 2 cups of hot water
• 1.5 cups of soya chunks can sub for tofu
• 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 small red bell peppers
• 2 cherry peppers/pimentos can sub for 1 jalapeno
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper can sub with 1 habanero pepper
• 1 anaheim pepper can sub with any green mild pepper — banana peppers are good
• 1 thumb size of ginger
• 1/2 tsp of curry powder
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• soy sauce or salt to taste

Instructions

• Make the marinade using minced garlic, better than bouillon base, barbecue all-purpose seasoning and hot water.
• Once everything has dissolved, add the soya chunks and let it hydrate for an hour.
• In a pan at medium heat, add the oil and 1/2 the chopped onions. Sauté till the onions are soft.
• Strain out the soya chunks and add the soya chunks to the pan. Do not throw out the marinade liquid
• Increase the heat of the pan and let the soya chunks fry and char
• While the soya chunks are cooking, add your peppers, ginger and remaining onion to a food processor and finely chop. You want it to be course not smooth.
• Lower the heat of the pan to medium-low, add the pepper blend to the soya chunks with about 1/4 cup of the marinade and let it cook for 5 minutes
• After 5 minutes, add in the rest of your spices (thyme, curry powder and soy sauce or salt) and let the sauce simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring periodically.
• The dish is ready