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Vegan Pâté

November 8, 2019 by Lisa Le 24 Comments

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Vegan pâté is a Vietnamese staple!
Typically used in banh mi, I grew up eating this smeared all over bread as a snack
(or a meal if you’re a lazy adult like me lol)

vegan pate on a black and white tablecloth with pickled carrots and daikon and a pothos

I am the queen of unfinished projects; I think that’s why my blog was so successful for me when I started it. Blog posts and recipes are pretty short term projects that don’t typically require a long term plan for completion. However, ambitious recipes that are slightly intimidating because they’re traditional Vietnamese recipes or they’re kind of complex make me feel like I need to go the extra mile to perfect them. This vegan pâté was something I had been working on over the summer but I was concerned it wasn’t smooth enough or creamy enough to be the right consistency.

I had put off the project for a while, worried about the amount of pâté I would have to eat if I didn’t quite nail the recipe. I wanted to create something creamy, light, almost fluffy like the pâté I grew up eating. With some research on what typical animal-based pâté was, and honestly it was just ground up bits of animals (mostly liver). Not the most pleasant, and I was confident that I could veganize it into something much more palateable. I’ve tried a few vegan version in the past that use different nuts and spice profiles, but the thing that bothered me the most was how dead and gray it would look.

cooked mushrooms in a pan

The pâté I grew up eating was fluffy and pinky brown, or if I was eating it from a traditional banh mi place, it would be more of a greyish brown (with a layer of fat or butter on top). It’s not the most appealing food, but it’s a comfort food of bringing pâté, a baguette, and a couple of crunchy vegetables with me to a park or the beach to enjoy with my family as a snack or picnic. Maybe that’s not the typical method of enjoying pâté, but that’s what I resonate with the most.

Sunflower seeds in a spoon over soaking liquid

The first iterations I tried involved pumpkin seeds and/or sunflower seeds, but I found it too grainy or chunky when blended in just my food processor alone. The flavour profile itself was tasty enough, but I wanted that creamy, luscious texture, and I knew that more fat definitely needed to be incorporated, but I didn’t want it to just be fat that smoothed it out.

Much like how people soak cashews to soften them for desserts, I figured I’d try that with sunflower seeds! It worked like a charm. Creamy and luscious, especially with a high speed blender to completely pulverize every bit! Add about 2 tablespoons of vegan butter to give it that creamy fluffy texture, then tomato paste and paprika to add a touch of sweetness and colour, then you have the pâté of my dreams! I added a touch of white pepper to add a tiny bit of heat, but it’s not spicy. It’s just a lingering warmth that you don’t realize is there until you wonder why you want to keep eating more.

Cooked mushrooms on top of soaked sunflower seeds in a blender jar

I made this recipe in time for my lemongrass tofu banh mi recipe demo at London VegFest this weekend (hope to see some of you there!) and I am so happy with the results! I won’t be demoing this recipe at the vegfest, but I’ll be showing you how I make the lemongrass mixture for the tofu, and then assembling the delicious banh mi! It feels really good and somewhat validating to be diving back into Vietnamese recipes, so I hope you have been liking it. Life has been a little up and down lately, mostly up, but you know me, ever so sensitive to the ebb and flow.

If you try this recipe for Vietnamese vegan pâté, be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook! I always enjoy seeing your versions of my recipes and sometimes you come up with pretty interesting twists or improvements, it’s pretty cool :)

vegan-pate-bowl

Recipe inspired by the Kale Sandwich Show

vegan pate on a black and white tablecloth with pickled carrots and daikon and a pothos
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Vegan Pâté

Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time25 minutes mins
Course: Appetizers & Sides
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Author: Lisa Le

Ingredients

  • 1 cup roasted sunflower seeds
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup 85 g shallots (~5 shallots), minced
  • 4 cloves 8 g garlic, minced
  • 2 cups ~300 g cremini mushrooms, washed and finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp 10 g tomato paste
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp 15 mL soy sauce
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp vegan butter

Instructions

  • First soak the sunflower seeds for about 15 minutes in boiling water. Let them sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  • In a pan, cook the minced shallots with vegetable oil until translucent. Add minced garlic, and stir and cook until fragrant.
  • Add mushrooms and cook until browned (a lot of moisture will be cooked out). Add tomato paste and paprika and stir to coat. Cook for another minute or so and remove from heat.
  • In a food processor or a high speed blender (it'd be smoother in the blender), add the drained sunflower seeds, mushroom/onion mixture, white pepper, soy sauce, salt, and vegan butter and blend until everything is smooth. Scrape down the sides until everything is well blended.
  • Serve on banh mi, with baguette, crackers, or whatever you fancy :) (It keeps for about 3-4 days in the fridge)

 

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Filed Under: Condiments & Sauces, Vegan recipes, Vietnamese Tagged With: nut-free, Pâté, vegan, vegan pate, vietnamese

About Lisa Le

Lisa is the thirty-something, nerdy, procrastinating, feminist blogger and photographer behind The Viet Vegan. She loves spicy foods, noodles, and food in bowls.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chocoviv says

    November 8, 2019 at 2:21 AM

    This looks very yummy…

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      November 8, 2019 at 4:22 PM

      It is very tasty :D

      Reply
  2. Arne says

    November 11, 2019 at 6:08 AM

    This actually looks great. I jus went vegan and love to explore food from other parts of the world (as a Scandinavian, you sort of have to….).

    Anyway, this is just one of many great recipes that you posted lately. Will try this one as I am quite sick of eating bread and salad for every meal. And yes – I have bookmarked your website now! ;)

    Reply
  3. Madelaine says

    November 12, 2019 at 8:35 PM

    Is this freezeable?

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      November 20, 2019 at 3:15 PM

      I haven’t tried it myself, but I’m sure it could be!

      Reply
  4. Joshua Howard says

    November 26, 2019 at 3:59 AM

    I love this recipe! I made it for friends and family and they all loved it (even someone who doesn’t like mushrooms!). Thank you for the post!

    Reply
  5. Jen says

    November 26, 2019 at 6:48 PM

    The recipe looks delicious. I also have food allergies and recently became allergic to Capcicum, both sweet peppers and chilies. Do you have recommendations for Vietnamese recipes that don’t require capcicum as an ingredient? I can only eat bell peppers, since they are the only pepper bred to exclude capcaicin. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      November 26, 2019 at 7:15 PM

      Hi Jen! That SUCKS that you’re allergic to capsaicin :( Spice is life! But I actually stopped using a lot of sweet peppers/bell peppers a lot anyway because my husband doesn’t like them hahaha! In terms of any of my Viet recipes that use chilis, you can always just omit them completely! Anything with chili flakes or peppers, just leave ’em out. If you really miss the spice, you could add whole peppercorns instead since their spice is from peperine and not capsaicin. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  6. Jenbro says

    July 9, 2020 at 11:57 AM

    This looks amazing! Do you know if it freezes well? Vegan Banh Mi is SO GOOD! But we haven’t tried a pate & we definitely missed it! :O)

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      July 10, 2020 at 1:58 PM

      I haven’t really tried to freeze it! But maybe?

      Reply
      • Jenbro says

        July 10, 2020 at 3:06 PM

        I’ll try & let you know! :) also, I added some cilantro & 5-spice powder and it’s like a pho spread! So odd but SO good! lol

        Reply
  7. Jenbro says

    July 10, 2020 at 3:02 PM

    Made this today & it’s good, but I taste an overwhelming flavor of sunflower seeds, were they supposed to be raw perhaps? The roasted flavor overwhelms everything else imo. But that’s just me! :)

    Reply
  8. Teresa says

    September 21, 2020 at 9:19 PM

    I used soaked cashews (didn’t have sunflower seeds) and it was pretty good. My mom, who is also vegetarian, really liked it as a spread on toast/crackers! Thanks for the great recipes, Lisa! :)

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      September 25, 2020 at 2:05 PM

      I’m so glad you liked this! I feel like this would be sooooo silky with cashews! I’ve also tried it with walnut (before I realized I was allergic) and that was also very good :)

      Reply
    • Maraika says

      January 9, 2023 at 9:24 PM

      Hi. How many Cashews did you use instead of sunflower seeds?

      Reply
      • Lisa Le says

        February 14, 2023 at 1:51 PM

        I think if you used the same volume, it would work just as well :)

        Reply
  9. David says

    November 9, 2020 at 6:32 PM

    Just wow! Been dreaming of a good pâté and this recipe is very good. Love the Bahn Mi recipe – thank you Lisa

    Reply
  10. Julia says

    May 13, 2021 at 3:05 PM

    As a longtime lover of pâté, this really hit the spot. Process intensive but worth it!! Thank you for helping me make the vegan bahn mi of my dreams :)

    Reply
  11. Shannon Bryant says

    December 30, 2021 at 5:58 PM

    So delish! I just prepped this for NYE tomorrow. I added about 1tbsp of vegan worcestershire and about 1tsp of barbeque sauce. Can’t wait to serve this tomorrow! :)

    Reply
  12. Valérie says

    November 22, 2022 at 12:21 PM

    Had to make it without garlic, because allergies, and it was still super tasty!! Can only imagine how bomb the Og garlic one is!!

    Reply
  13. Adrian Kelly says

    May 26, 2024 at 4:32 AM

    How do you roast the sunflower seeds?

    Reply
    • Lisa Le says

      June 4, 2024 at 2:50 PM

      I buy them roasted! But you can toast raw sunflower seeds in a pan or in the oven (they burn fast though so keep an eye on them)

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        January 10, 2025 at 3:10 PM

        5 stars
        So good! I made it with raw cashew instead of roasted sunflower seeds.

        Reply
  14. Elena says

    December 30, 2024 at 7:47 PM

    5 stars
    This is so delicious!
    Thank you.

    Reply

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