Mock meats are nothing new, but the folks at SGProtein have gone one step further – plant-based proteins that give us beef rendang without beef and popcorn chicken without chicken. We dive deeper to learn about how these protein alternatives can change Singapore’s food landscape.
Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Popcorn chicken with no chicken?
00:02Beef rendang with no beef?
00:04We have arrived in the future.
00:08At SG Protein, we are specialised in plant-based meat manufacturing.
00:12We want to ensure that all the population have access to yummy, healthy proteins
00:17that are good for them and also the environment and for animal welfare.
00:21In this series, we'll explore how innovative technologies and local initiatives
00:26are rethinking the way we produce and consume food.
00:31Welcome to Future Food, where we explore the food production of tomorrow.
00:38Now housed in this unassuming building
00:41is a company that's transforming the food industry.
00:44Let's go meet them.
00:51Hi, Dominique.
00:52My name is Yulin.
00:53Thanks so much for having us here today to share more about SG Protein.
00:57Hi, Yulin. Thank you very much for coming.
00:58It's a great pleasure.
00:59So can you tell us more about what SG Protein does?
01:02SG Protein is a manufacturer for plant-based meat.
01:05We aspire to become the biggest plant-based meat manufacturer in Asia.
01:09Today, one big source of protein is meat from animals.
01:14The positive side there is it gains so much efficiency
01:17that more people have access to proteins.
01:20So can you talk me through the industrialisation process of SG Protein?
01:24Today, companies, food manufacturers, for example,
01:26they don't develop their own slaughterhouses
01:30to get chicken meat or get animal proteins in.
01:34So they buy that as a wholesaler.
01:35And that's what we position ourselves as well.
01:38So we can manufacture as a wholesaler for food brands
01:41that they can use our product and then sell it under their name.
01:45We supply to the industry where they can actually use it
01:51in formats when they want to do dumplings, when they want to do ready meals.
01:55And we work also with companies which are already quite established.
01:59We say we want somebody to produce it according to our recipe.
02:03Do you want to come down to our office and to our factory
02:06to actually have a real-life experience how such a facility looks like?
02:11Yes, I would love to.
02:13Let's go down. Let's go.
02:17Hi, my name is Yulin. Nice to meet you.
02:20Nice to meet you.
02:21This is the dipping station.
02:23That's where we do dipping powders into the machines.
02:27Let me show you how it works.
02:33Ah! What's that?
02:35What's the loud sound?
02:36That's from the vat that is opening.
02:38Ah, okay.
02:40So it will sieve away all the big particles like magnets, plastics and papers.
02:47The small metals will be attracted by the magnetics below.
02:50So after dipping, we will transfer to the hopper on top.
02:54So the vat will open and the powder will transfer to this speed mixer.
02:59So it mixes all the powders together.
03:01Okay.
03:02And then it will transfer to the hopper at the other side.
03:05So let me show you the semi-dry production.
03:08Alright, let's go.
03:09So I will transfer the powder to this hopper on top.
03:14So we are loading the powder into the micro-doser.
03:19This is the alarm trigger telling you that the powder is filling up.
03:24Okay!
03:25So this will be the pre-conditioner.
03:28It will transfer the powder and mix it with the water.
03:33Just like kneading dough at home.
03:36So it just makes the powder wet.
03:39And then it will push out to this extruder.
03:42So the extruder will add water and cook the product.
03:46Cook?
03:47Yes, cook the product.
03:48So this is hot?
03:49Yes, very hot.
03:50So you don't touch it.
03:52This is like 180 degrees.
03:55Yeah, so you all need to be careful.
03:57So this will mix and cook.
03:59So it will give more layers and texture.
04:03Then the finished product will push it throughout the extruder to this cooling die.
04:09This thing is about 70 degrees.
04:12So it will cool down the product to 70 degrees.
04:15Ah, I see.
04:17No wonder it's so hot in this room.
04:18Yes, correct.
04:20I thought it was me.
04:22Or maybe him.
04:26So here we go, it starts.
04:29Ooh, I smell tofu smell.
04:32So this product is not ready.
04:35Oh, okay.
04:36Because this is the stuck phase, so it has less solid content.
04:40So when it's ready, it's more firm.
04:43Ah, okay.
04:44It will change to a darker colour.
04:47This one is like beef.
04:49Beef?
04:50Yes.
04:51So you all can make steak?
04:53Uh, yes.
04:54There's a pressure bar.
04:56So when we reach about 20 pressure bar, then we can start to take, yes.
05:04Okay, we can take.
05:07So we get ready the conveyor belt.
05:10So they are testing for the texture and the density of the meat substitute or protein substitute.
05:19As you can see, he was using his glove to feel the texture of it.
05:22It's starting to look and feel like meat.
05:30It looks like Christmas ham.
05:33Now I wonder how they're going to flavour it to make it taste like roast beef.
05:39Oh, dang.
05:41Looks like meat, y'all.
05:44Whoa, look at that, look at that.
05:48So Michael, can you tell me more about what's happening right now?
05:52So now we are doing individual quick phase with toilet IQF.
05:57This process will be very cold.
05:59It's negative 45 degrees Celsius.
06:02Is it like, would you get instantly frozen if you go in?
06:05Like, can you survive standing in there for a couple of seconds?
06:07Or is it like petrified?
06:09I don't think we can.
06:11Oh, it's like literally if you go in, you're dead?
06:13Your shoe will be frozen.
06:15Immediately?
06:16Yes, immediately.
06:17Wow.
06:18So it took about 20 minutes to freeze the product.
06:22So this is our final product.
06:25This is beef chunk.
06:27Then we can make beef rendang.
06:28And this is the chicken chunk.
06:31We can make...
06:32Chicken nuggets.
06:34And popcorn chicken.
06:37Yeah.
06:38Well, I can't wait to taste these products.
06:40Are we actually going to do some cooking?
06:42Yes.
06:43And now for my favourite part of the episode, the taste test.
06:47I have Dominic back here with us to talk us through the different dishes.
06:50As I mentioned, for us, plant-based meat is important that it's not only burgers.
06:55So we have a variety of dishes.
06:57These are excellent examples where customers of ours who do dumplings,
07:03who do buns, who do songsay,
07:05were able to actually make a vegetarian type out of it.
07:09Okay, what shall we try?
07:10Let's go, you know, the easy one first, the popcorn chicken.
07:15Okay.
07:17Actually does taste like popcorn chicken.
07:21I think I can be a vegetarian or vegan.
07:24It's really nice.
07:25So do you cook these dishes at home as well?
07:27We use that all the time to cook at home, exactly.
07:32With chunks, with egglets.
07:35We can actually just use it in our normal dishes
07:37without changing the eating habits.
07:41I mean, it's not going to taste 100% like, you know, the beef rendang,
07:43but actually it feels like a good substitute.
07:46Like I would eat this.
07:48Do you like beef rendang?
07:49I like it very much.
07:53I used to live in Indonesia, so I eat a lot of rendangs.
07:57There's a lot of different rendangs.
07:59And since I can do it now in plant-based, I'm very happy about that.
08:03It's amazing.
08:04Okay, I'm going to go for this.
08:06Meatless meat dumpling.
08:10I've never had that myself.
08:13It tastes a bit Sichuan in its flavouring,
08:17but it tastes like the actual dumpling.
08:20Minced meat, cool.
08:22All right, let's go for...
08:24Normal dumplings, and these are more like buns.
08:26Ah, okay.
08:28Wherever you go for dumplings, you have a lot of different proteins in it.
08:31And usually, if you take a vegetarian dumpling,
08:35you miss out on the proteins.
08:36So being able to have a plant-based protein in it,
08:40it's also healthier for you and gives you essentials.
08:46Really, the point is, it should be in our everyday dishes.
08:50Because then, we have an impact with plant-based proteins.
08:53Especially here in Asia, it's interesting when we can have it in dishes like a rendang.
08:58In Asia, we actually have a tradition of mock meats.
09:02And I was just wondering, what's the difference between mock meat and plant-based protein?
09:07It's actually a very good question.
09:09And when you look at traditional mock meat,
09:12it actually fills your body, but it fills it with a lot of empty calories.
09:16There's not much protein in it.
09:18And for us, it was always important that when we take away an animal protein,
09:22we have to replace it also with the same nutritional values.
09:25The main protein we use is the soy protein.
09:29So with the soy protein, it's actually one of the best plant proteins for our body to absorb.
09:36It's a very good ratio that our proteins can absorb.
09:40However, we also do R&D with other plant proteins such as fava beans,
09:46pea proteins, in order to have a balanced amino acid profile.
09:51Wow, sounds really healthy.
09:53Yeah, amazing.
09:54Thanks so much for having me here today and allowing me to try all these wonderful dishes.
09:58And yeah, I hope to see SG Protein produce more and more options for us in the future.
10:04Thank you very much for coming.
10:05It was a pleasure to show you around.
10:07Oh, thank you.
10:09To learn more about the nutrition of alternative proteins,
10:12I speak to Jillian, a dietician from Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
10:16So the first question is, could you give me an overview of the evolution of plant-based foods?
10:22Yeah, sure.
10:23So plant-based foods have been around for a long time.
10:26There's been growing interest over the years for several reasons,
10:29one of which is we know that plant-based diets are strongly associated with a lot of health benefits.
10:35There are also environmental concerns with agriculture, growing livestock,
10:39as far as water usage goes, land usage, greenhouse gas emissions as well.
10:44And there's also growing interest about preventing animal cruelty,
10:48which is mostly revolving around livestock.
10:50From the beginning of time, we've always had plant-based proteins,
10:53such as tofu, soybeans, lentils, nuts as well.
10:57But over the years, we've kind of seen some new things coming up.
11:00For example, cultivated meat or lab-grown meat from stem cells.
11:03We've also seen an increasing amount of plant-based meat alternatives in the market,
11:08mainly in the form of plant-based meat patties or plant-based nuggets.
11:12Whereas let's say if you went for a traditional piece of chicken thigh without the skin and you trim off the fat,
11:17that's going to be leaner, so you get the same amount of protein,
11:19but you're receiving that with less sodium and less fat.
11:23I see, and the reason for these additives in meat alternatives
11:27is because they kind of lack the natural flavour that you would find in traditional meat.
11:31Generally so, yes.
11:33So with plant-based meat alternatives, usually they have to add a lot of additional things
11:38to achieve the same kind of mouthfeel and consistency that regular meat and poultry may have.
11:45Thank you for joining us today,
11:47where we witnessed SG Protein's commitment to innovation, quality and sustainability.
11:52In the next episode, we'll see how Singapore's food plant is helping businesses
11:57to innovate, pilot and upscale food production.
12:00See you next time!
12:02So she said she wants to dance and hold a spade, so...
12:09It's too hot.
12:11Too hot?
12:12Well, I apologise.
12:14Are you free tonight? Maybe you can cook me something?
12:32I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:34I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:36I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:38I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:40I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:42I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:44I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:46I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:48I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:50I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:52I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:54I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:56I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.
12:58I'm sorry, I can't cook you anything.