That thread about alternative emulsifyers for mayonnaise, got me thinking about two sauces I have made a number of times, that call for egg yolks. I kept forgetting to save the juice, but this last time I remembered! And I had a lot of Thai basil I had to harvest from my hydroponics, as it was growing into the lights!

I made a small batch of tom kha gai tonight, but there was that other dish I wanted to make, to use up a bunch of the Thai basil - a Thai basil emulsion sauce, which I originally found in a favorite CB - Asian Flavors Of Jean Georges, where it was a dip sauce for a beef satay, but I've used it for a number of things since. And on another forum, in a discussion of using the juice from canned beans as a substitute for egg yolks, for those vegans out there, or those that don't like eating raw eggs. I tried it - just 1 tb chick pea juice, in place of an egg yolk, and it worked great! I found some recipes with 3 tb juice to 1 1/2 c oil, which is how I came up with that amount - I thought that I might need to add more, but didn't, and the taste was barely noticeable - even though I knew it was there, I could barely tell - the other flavors came through as always.
Thai basil harvest from the hydroponics. Still got more, for that sauce later. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

2 cups of Thai basil, for that emulsion sauce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

To preserve the color of the basil, it is blanched very quickly, then drenched in ice water:
Blanching Thai basil for emulsion sauce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Straining and drying the Thai basil, for the emulsion sauce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Blending the Thai basil and 1/2 c oil smooth. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The oil is strained, though after blending in the Vitamix, very little strains out, as with Mexican sauces.
Straining the oil and Thai basil, after blending (not much strains out). by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here is the basil oil, with 2 tb lime juice, 1 tsp fish sauce, and 1 tb chick pea juice added, ready to blend.
Strained basil oil, with 2 tb lime juice and 1 tsp. fish sauce, and 1 tb. chick pea liquid added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Thai basil emulsion sauce finished - just 1 tb chick pea liquid used in place of egg yolk. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

All I made to dip into it were some simple sauteéd shrimp. I also made a very quick chipotle sauce, with the last of my tomatoes - only took about 1 minute, plus chopping some cilantro.

Thai basil emulsion, and chipotle sauce, for dipping shrimp. Not traditional together, but favorites of mine. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cooking shrimp simply. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Sautéed shrimp, ready for dipping. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[mention]pepperhead212[/mention]

Awesome. How do you make the chickpea juice?

Shule wrote: ↑Tue Nov 17, 2020 4:22 am @pepperhead212

Awesome. How do you make the chickpea juice?

It's the liquid in a can of chickpeas. Just save the fluid from the can. It's a great emulsifier.

As a family with 2 vegans (and 2 non-vegans), this is one of our favorite egg substitutes for baking and nobody misses the eggs. I'll have to try it as an emulsifyer in other sauces. Good idea. For those trying it for the first time, I recommend using the juice from no-salt or at least low-salt chick peas. A bit harder to find, but it makes it easier than trying to figure out how much salt to reduce in the rest of the recipe, for instance when making cookies.

I keep hearing how the chickpea liquid (aquafaba) can be used as an egg substitute when a binder is called for, and even whipped into a vegan whipped cream substitute - and I have yet to try it! What I just learned by Googling to make sure I'd spelled aquafaba right is that the liquid from any canned beans can be used - obviously white beans are going to have a clearer liquid that remains more white. I'm a big fan of cannellini beans too.

Good to know it really works! We tend to eat a fair amount of beans. My partner is Latino, and we both like bean and rice dishes, and I've been trying to lessen my meat consumption so I've been on a homemade black bean burgers kick. First batch was from canned beans and the second batch I cooked up a bag of dried beans in the instant-pot. In both cases I could have kept the liquid but it would have been deep purple, appropriate for some dishes I guess. Actually, I can't wait to try the next bean burger recipe trying an omission of the eggs and using this stuff instead. The recipe I used was mostly taken from a Sally's Baking Addiction recipe but borrowing an America's Test Kitchen recent YouTube video idea, and using crushed tortilla chips as the bready binder, which gives them a satisfying corn flavor. Next time I plan on toasting the chips in the oven before I pulverize them. I think I'm also going to work in some lentils or quinoa. Still experimenting with getting the right textures, but Sally's tip about baking the beans on a sheet pan to dry them a little really helps.

I also want to try it to make a vegan mayo. We're probably due for a batch of four bean salad (edamame, black beans, a white bean, carrot, onion, raisins, seasonings and a simple vinaigrette, keeps in the fridge all week and makes a quick sandwich side) so I'll have to save that liquid.

Also as an aside, I was going to try to grow either black beans or pigeon peas this past summer as one of the few things that reportedly can grow in a Florida summer, but I never got around to it. Incentive to try next year and have our own bean supply!

OK, now I'm hungry and it's three hours to lunch... a black bean burger in fact. Thanks for the inspiration!

-- Ann

Chick peas have some sort of a weird fish after taste to me for some reason.

worth1 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 8:32 am Chick peas have some sort of a weird fish after taste to me for some reason.

I have never noticed that, but if they did, that wouldn't matter in this recipe, with the fish sauce.

pepperhead212 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 1:08 pm

worth1 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 8:32 am Chick peas have some sort of a weird fish after taste to me for some reason.

I have never noticed that, but if they did, that wouldn't matter in this recipe, with the fish sauce.

Right