ANNOUNCER: And now "Signature Dish," a WETA original series.

SETH: Today on "Signature Dish," it's a plant-based paradise.

SETH: After breaking out the big knives... MICHAEL: Big reveal.

SETH: Wow, really quite an adventure to go from seeing that enormous jackfruit.

MICHAEL: Yeah, it's funny too that we end up here, right?

LEAH: Yeah.

SETH: ...We'll go big on hearty flavors... THI: This dish right here, usually it come with lots of different type of beef.

This is very hard to replicate.

SETH: How would you have any idea that that's not beef?

SETH: ...And feast on a veggie symphony.

This is really kind of a choose-your-own-adventure meal, right?

FIREHIWOT: Uh-huh.

SETH: Oh, wow.

I'm Seth Tillman, WETA producer and DC native, and I love good food.

That's why I'm traveling to restaurants across the DMV, at each stop looking for the one thing you just gotta try... that signature dish.

We're embarking on this meatless odyssey in Dupont Circle, home to DC Vegan.

The restaurant is run by the husband and wife team of Michael and Leah Moon, who followed very different paths on their way to going plant-based.

LEAH: My vegan journey started about 20 years ago.

I'm vegan primarily for the animals.

I just wanted to choose a more compassionate path.

MICHAEL: I actually went vegan after an especially egregious holiday season, and I had to swear off meat after that.

LEAH: When I gave up eating animal products, I didn't want to give up the food that I love, the food that I grew up on.

So I took a lot of family recipes, a lot of Italian recipes, and in my own kitchen just sort of worked them out without the animal products.

So we really focus on approachability, familiar food.

We like to say it's food that your Midwestern uncle would love.

MICHAEL: DC Vegan began in 2015.

We started as a catering company out of commissary kitchen, and I realized that there wasn't a whole lot of plant-based catering available in the region.

So ironically, we feed mainly non-vegans.

So we get folks that might have a seafood allergy or a lactose allergy; maybe their vegan friend's birthday and we get a group of those folks in.

SETH: In 2021, DC Vegan opened their Dupont brick and mortar; first as a deli, but quickly realized there was a hunger for more.

MICHAEL: We had folks coming in and they wanted that full service experience with the servers and dinner entrees.

LEAH: So there is a large and vibrant vegan community here in DC, a lot organized around activism, a lot around animal welfare.

There is a long history here of vegan soul food originating in the Afro-vegan community, and we're just so grateful for those roots that are here, that beautiful, beautiful food that's here, and we're just kind of making our contribution to it.

SETH: Michael.

MICHAEL: Seth.

SETH: Good to meet you.

MICHAEL: Welcome in.

SETH: Ooh, we got some monster fruit or vegetable right here on the board.

MICHAEL: Yes.

SETH: What are you making today?

MICHAEL: So we're making our Philly Jackfruit, which is a vegan take on the Philly cheesesteak.

Of course, we're going to use jackfruit today.

SETH: Well, I've seen jackfruit on a lot of menus, but I never actually stopped to think about what they look like.

My goodness.

MICHAEL: So this is the jackfruit in its original form.

This is a tropical fruit found in India, Philippines.

One of the largest tree-growing fruits.

SETH: So even though you're a vegan restaurant, we get to do a little butchering here today with this.

MICHAEL: We're going to butcher some fruit.

SETH: Well, let's give it a rip and see.

MICHAEL: Okay, jackfruit basically comes in two forms.

So, this is the sweeter version of the fruit, so this is the ripe version.

This is usually used for desserts, ice creams, things like that.

We're using like the canned version, which is usually for like a plant-based meat.

SETH: Mm-hmm.

And it has that texture inside that's going to be sort of similar to meat?

MICHAEL: I would say it's kind of like a pulled pork.

SETH: Hmm.

You can do it.

You can do it, Michael.

MICHAEL: This thing is no joke.

SETH: Wow.

I've seen a chef butcher a whole tuna and I think that looked easier than cutting open a jackfruit.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

Try this again.

SETH: You can do it.

MICHAEL: Okay.

The big reveal.

The big reveal.

SETH: Wow.

MICHAEL: So there it is.

And essentially we've got these pods here of fruit that are sort of tucked in here.

We have this huge jackfruit, but we're probably going to get about a bowl of fruit out of here.

SETH: And these little orange pieces here, that's the lush?

MICHAEL: Yeah.

And sort of take these apart here and then we've got the fruit.

SETH: I can see how stringy it is, how it pulls apart.

MICHAEL: Yeah, it's really sticky.

It's more the texture.

SETH: I'm going to try some raw jackfruit.

MICHAEL: I'm going to try some with you.

SETH: That is sweet.

And it's definitely got a nice dense texture and flavor to it.

Ooh, I could snack on this all day.

MICHAEL: It's so good.

So as you can imagine, this isn't the most practical way for us to make the jackfruit.

So we actually get the jackfruit in food service packaging.

Again, we're using the jackfruit that is the less ripe.

So what we do when we get the jackfruit, sauté up some onions, grind it, season it up, we braise it for two to three hours, we smoke it.

So when it's done with the braising, this is what it looks like.

SETH: And it looks like I'm looking into a pan full of stewed meat right here.

MICHAEL: Totally different experience.

SETH: That nice braising liquid, nice and moist, but the texture just pulls apart just the way... MICHAEL: Yeah, it's going to be like a pulled pork.

SETH: Fascinating.

No wonder the jackfruit is such a popular fruit to use for vegan dishes.

MICHAEL: I mean, it's interesting to go from this to this.

SETH: All right, so we've got the substitute steak, but the Cheesesteak, obviously we need cheese.

And I'm always a little skeptical about vegan cheese, so how do you guys do it here?

MICHAEL: So we've got our seasonings here.

And of course we're going to start with some cashews.

SETH: Hmm.

I do like cashews.

MICHAEL: We've been soaking these raw cashews.

They're going to be a little softer so that they can go into the blender.

So we've got the nutritional yeast.

We're going to add a little salt.

We're going to add a little paprika, garlic powder, turmeric.

SETH: Turmeric is important, right?

Because you want this to look like Cheez Whiz when you're done if it's a Philly Cheesesteak.

MICHAEL: It's got to have the beautiful color, right?

We've got onion powder, lemon juice, some oil.

SETH: You are not skimping on the seasonings.

MICHAEL: And now we've got some chili powder.

SETH: Ooh.

MICHAEL: And then this is our secret seasoning here, which I can't share with you.

All right, we're just going to start blending this up here.

So wait, there's one more step.

We're actually going to cold smoke the cheese.

SETH: Ooh.

MICHAEL: And when we finish, this is what it looks like.

SETH: Beautiful.

And between all the seasonings and the smoking, we're really taking a vegan cheese and vegan meat to the next level here.

MICHAEL: This is next level.

So next I'm going to go over to the flat top, we're going to take some peppers and onions, some jackfruit.

I'm going to toast off some bread, hit it with some garlic aioli, add the fixings, and then we're going to finish it off with the cheese sauce.

And then we've got our Philly Jackfruit.

SETH: All right, Mike, Leah, I am excited to try this Philly Jackfruit sandwich.

MICHAEL: Pro tip: we like to take it, pat it down a little with the fork so you can get the good bite here.

And I will cut a piece for Leah and I here.

SETH: All right, well, here we go.

LEAH: All right.

MICHAEL: Cheers.

LEAH: Cheers.

MICHAEL: Never gets old.

LEAH: No.

SETH: That's a knockout.

LEAH: Good.

SETH: You know, didn't fully know what to expect, but you really can taste the flavors of the braising liquid, pick up some of that wine that was used.

And the cheese has that nice sort of nutty flavor.

I think all that seasoning and spices really brings it out.

And a little garlic as well?

MICHAEL: A little garlic aioli on the bottom.

SETH: Oh yeah, yeah.

MICHAEL: It just gives it some dimension, some depth.

LEAH: Mm-hmm.

SETH: Hmm.

And besides the peppers and the onions, there's a little bit of just a hint of smoke that carries through as well, I guess from the cheese and from the jackfruit.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

SETH: Really quite an adventure to go from seeing that enormous jackfruit... MICHAEL: Yeah.

It's funny too that we end up here, right?

LEAH: Yeah.

SETH: With something so familiar and delicious.

MICHAEL: What a Journey.

SETH: And the cheese as well.

I mean, I know it's such a cliche at this point to say it, but obviously that was just a holdup for so many people who are skeptical about a plant-based diet.

LEAH: Right, right, right.

And so here we've got some of the cheeses from our cheese shop.

We've got a tomato and herb fromage as well as a Colby Jack cheese.

SETH: So this is a little vegan charcuterie plate right here?

LEAH: Yes.

SETH: All right.

And this actually just looks quite a bit like what I would think of as just cheese.

LEAH: Right.

They're cultured and aged.

The same process that goes into making traditional cheese is what we use here.

SETH: When you started this journey, I'm guessing there weren't as many options available to you?

LEAH: There were not as many options, and the options that were there frankly weren't that great.

So we're just so thrilled to be kind of at the forefront of this.

And really, the world is exploding when it comes to vegan cheeses.

SETH: And so in your shop, are you seeing more vegans, more non-vegans?

I mean, what's the kind of mix of people who come in here?

LEAH: We've got a lot of vegans, but we also just have a lot of omnivores that come that just like good food or just eat a plant-based meal every now and then.

And it's not as sort of bifurcated as it used to be.

People are just incorporating plant-based eating into their everyday lives, and we love being a part of that.

SETH: So you can just kind of gradually nudge yourself along on the journey?

LEAH: Sure.

SETH: Don't have to go cold turkey.

LEAH: No.

SETH: They can come here and have a dynamite Philly Cheesesteak.

LEAH: Yeah.

SETH: Thanks so much to both of you.

LEAH: Thank you.

MICHAEL: Thanks for having us.

SETH: Next up is a visit to Falls Church, Virginia.

Just off Columbia Pike in a short hop from Lake Barcroft is Chay.

The celebrated restaurant offers top-notch Vietnamese fare with spot-on substitutes for meat.

SETH: Chef Lan opened Chay with her husband Thi Le.

To pull off a vegan menu, she makes all of her own proprietary proteins in-house using soy, mushrooms and other familiar veggies, experimenting with fermentation and a variety of cooking techniques.

THI: We just want to replicate the vegetarian menu to the regular traditional Vietnamese menu.

She's just amazing.

Her talent is second to none.

And all these dishes that she created just came straight out of her head, and just magical.

THI: Well, the response for our restaurant has been amazing.

People coming up thanking us for opening a restaurant.

People coming here, they're not vegetarian, but they said they're not missing the meat at all.

We have a huge Vietnamese community in this area and they've been very encouraging and just keep us going.

SETH: I'm off to Chay to meet Chef Lan and try a hearty Vietnamese soup that is traditionally overloaded with meat.

Lan, nice to meet you.

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: Unbelievable spread of ingredients here.

What are you cooking up today?

SETH: So we're recreating the flavor of meat, but doing it all with fresh vegetables.

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: So to put this dish together, I also see a giant stock pot.

Is this where you're making the broth for the dish?

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: No shortage of flavor going in there.

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: Already starting to get a really nice aroma.

SETH: After adding aromatics to the broth, Lan begins work on the seasoning paste.

SETH: It's certainly bringing out the aromas, I'll tell you that.

SETH: Spicy, garlicky.

Love it.

SETH: So you get a little bit of funkiness, a little body.

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: It's immediately transforming the color of that broth.

Such a beautiful color already.

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: This is one of the meats that's going in the dish?

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: Ah.

I'm always amazed at what can be done with tofu in the right hands.

SETH: All right, this is already looking nice and hearty.

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: With all of the flavorings added, Lan leaves the soup to simmer for 30 minutes.

To finish the dish, she adds the noodles and three more types of faux meat.

She then ladles in the soup and garnishes with herbs, onions, and one final dollop of the soybean paste.

All right, Chef, Thi.

Beautiful colors all over the table.

Incredible aroma.

Should I dig in or should I add a few toppings first?

THI: You should add a little bit of topping.

These are Thai basil.

SETH: A little basil, a little cabbage, cilantro.

THI: Cabbage, cilantro.

SETH: A little squeeze of lime perhaps as well?

THI: Yes.

Yes.

Yeah.

SETH: Okay.

Hmm.

Outstanding.

The lemongrass really perfumes the soup really nicely.

LAN: Yeah.

SETH: A little bit of funk with that fermented soybean paste.

Looks like a little sausage here.

This is a hearty, comforting bowl of soup.

So much meaty flavor in this.

And I still haven't even had the noodles.

What kind of noodles are these, Chef?

SETH: They have a little bit of a nice chew to them as well.

LAN: Yeah.

THI: This right here, Bún bò Hue usually they come with a lot of different type of beef, oxtail, lots of bones.

SETH: There's a lot of creativity needed to be able to replicate these flavors to make it taste like something you might experience in Vietnam, but without any meat.

THI: She's just unbelievable.

I mean, this is very hard to replicate a plant-based product.

She did a perfect job.

SETH: And I like too that it's a spicy noodle dish, but it's got a nice gentle kick.

It's not overpowering you with any spice.

THI: Try this homemade hot sauce.

Those are Thai chili pepper, habanero, ghost pepper, and Carolina Reaper.

SETH: Those are a bunch of pretty strong peppers you're naming right there.

Am I going to regret this?

Mix it around just a little bit just to be safe?

THI: Yes, yes.

SETH: Well, a little of that goes a long, long way.

This just went from a nice comforting beef soup to something a lot more powerful and a lot spicier.

And besides this dish, tons of other beautiful colors and textures on this table, including something that looks like it absolutely has to be beef, but obviously I know it's not.

THI: Yes, it's a Shaky Beef.

It's one of our best sellers in the restaurant right now.

SETH: How would you have any idea that that's not beef?

Nice little sticky soy glaze on that, some sweetness.

But that texture.

You'd have no idea.

SETH: Well, you're something of a magician chef.

Because this is, I think, what everyone's craving: things that feel like meat, but don't feel like they were grown in a lab.

Just taking tofu, vegetables, proteins, mixing them, and not just replicating the flavors, but maybe even exceeding them.

Thank you guys.

LAN: Yeah.

Thank you.

THI: Thank you very much.

SETH: My last stop is just a few miles further south in Alexandria.

In a strip mall facing South Van Dorn Street, you'll find Feru Bar & Restaurant.

The Ethiopian eatery's name is the nickname for chef and owner Frehiwot Bireka.

FIREHIWOT: I'm from Ethiopia.

I came here 2008.

I was a traditional dancer.

I came here to perform.

It feels at home, actually.

That's why I decided to stay.

SETH: In the kitchen, Chef Feru has teamed up with her mother Abayesh, a veteran cook in her own right and an expert on preparing Ethiopian coffee.

FIREHIWOT: My mom used to teach me how to cook, how to serve.

She got it from her mom and then I got it from her.

But in the middle of my life, I was a dancer, so never cook.

But when I came here, I started thinking and reading her recipe and doing it at home.

SETH: While Feru also serves meat, the restaurant offers a bounty of colorful vegan dishes.

FIREHIWOT: And then when we break our fasting, we become vegan.

You know, we eat veggie.

My people, they are meat lovers.

So I want to introduce more a healthy and natural dishes for everyone.

We eat together, you eat it with your hands.

We connect, we talk about our days.

I like to serve people, I like to cook, I like to mix drinks.

I engage with people.

I tell my story and then I tell my culture.

So I just don't serve and then go away.

So, I explain the food, I explain why I came here.

It's like performing myself.

SETH: Feru.

FIREHIWOT: Hi.

SETH: Nice to meet you.

FIREHIWOT: Nice to meet you.

SETH: I am excited for a veggie feast.

What are you making today?

FIREHIWOT: So we are going to make a signature Mushroom Kitfo, and then Very popular in Ethiopia.

But in this case, we are going to do the vegan, the mushroom, so... SETH: Okay, so no butter, no meat.

FIREHIWOT: No butter.

We're going to use oils.

SETH: Ah.

FIREHIWOT: And then all vegan.

SETH: And the mushrooms are going to give me that nice meaty texture that you're looking for?

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

SETH: All right.

So how do you get started on this dish?

FIREHIWOT: All right.

This is the oil we use and then we use fresh rosemary and the onions.

So I'm cooking the onions.

SETH: And the rosemary is releasing an incredible aroma.

FIREHIWOT: The rosemary.

Yes.

And then now we are going to add the white mushrooms, and then we're going to add the chili powder.

SETH: So a lot of the spices that you're using would be the same as in the meat kitfo?

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

Yes.

And then a lot of cardamom.

SETH: A lot of good spices going in.

FIREHIWOT: Yeah.

So this is the spice.

My mom gave it to me.

SETH: Got it.

So this is mom's secret spice recipe?

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

Yes.

Add that.

SETH: Everyone's got to have their own secret spice recipe.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

Yes.

SETH: But you're not giving up any of those spices?

FIREHIWOT: Yes, I'm not.

But I can tell you, this is garlic.

We add some garlic.

And then we do a little of the soy sauce.

SETH: Soy sauce is going to give it a little fuller body as well?

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

We don't want to overcook the mushrooms, SETH: It's always amazing to me, when you start cooking mushrooms it starts with so much and you're left with so little.

But I guess that's all those flavors concentrating in there.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

We love spicy, so we can add more spicier jalapeño.

SETH: Just a little bit of spice going in there.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

SETH: All right.

Well, I like medium spicy food, so we'll see how this goes.

FIREHIWOT: Sure.

All right, it seems ready now, so ... SETH: That was awfully quick.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

SETH: It's just amazing how we're able to transform some plain old mushrooms into a beautiful looking stew.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

So this is the mushroom kitfo.

Then we're going to build the veggie platter.

And while we are doing that, my mom is going to prepare the Ethiopian coffee.

SETH: Ooh, that sounds really good.

FIREHIWOT: All right.

SETH: All right, let's do it.

FIREHIWOT: Okay.

SETH: To begin preparing the Ethiopian coffee, Abayesh starts with roasting the fresh coffee beans before grinding them and adding them along with spices to the jebena to brew.

FIREHIWOT: So now we are going to build our vegetarian platters.

So we're going to start with the mushroom kitfo.

SETH: All right.

I can tell there's a lot more beautiful colors here on the table.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

This is the spiced lentils.

We call it key misir.

Just a spicy.

This is the yellow split beans.

We call it kik alicha.

So it's not spicy.

We use turmeric for this.

This is the green beans and carrots, and this is the collard greens.

SETH: All these are vegan, no?

FIREHIWOT: Yeah, all vegan.

All vegan.

And then this is the potato, carrots and the cabbage.

This is the beets.

We call it key sir in Amharic.

So this is the shiro, the chickpeas.

We use the mild spicy sauce.

SETH: All right.

Chef, this platter is just loaded up to the brim.

And I've had Ethiopian food, so at least I'm a little familiar with injera, but it looks like maybe we have two different types of it over here?

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

So that's the gluten-free injera teff 100%.

Yeah.

SETH: And so this one has a little bit of a flour in it as well?

FIREHIWOT: Flour, white flour, rice.

SETH: All right.

And what do people in the restaurant generally prefer?

FIREHIWOT: They prefer the teff injera hundred percent.

SETH: All right.

So this is going to be gluten-free and vegan.

FIREHIWOT: Yeah.

SETH: So should I just tear a piece and go for it?

FIREHIWOT: Yeah, please.

SETH: Okay.

FIREHIWOT: Enjoy.

SETH: Well, I've got to start with the kitfo.

All right, here we go.

FIREHIWOT: Okay.

SETH: All right.

FIREHIWOT: Okay.

SETH: That is a 10 out of 10.

It's meaty, but you still get the flavor of the mushrooms.

The rosemary has imparted such a wonderful flavor to it.

It's not too spicy.

FIREHIWOT: No, it's not.

SETH: Is there any shame in making flavor combinations?

Like combining the kitfo with anything else?

FIREHIWOT: So we can combine the kitfo with collard greens, which is the gomen.

SETH: Okay.

Because this is really kind of a choose-your-own-adventure meal, right?

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

SETH: Go anywhere you want?

FIREHIWOT: Uh-huh.

SETH: Delicious.

FIREHIWOT: Mm-hmm.

SETH: But I do need a little bit of spice.

FIREHIWOT: Okay.

SETH: Yeah, these lentils look nice and red and a little bit fiery.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

Go ahead.

SETH: Oh boy.

Spicy.

Not too spicy.

FIREHIWOT: Yeah.

SETH: But like everything else, it's just tons of vibrant flavors.

The spices, you can just tell how fresh they are.

And for you, eating plant-based foods, this isn't a fad or a hobby.

I mean, this is very integral to your experience, right?

FIREHIWOT: Yeah.

So as an Orthodox Christian, we like to fast.

For example, the past Christmas, we fast for 40 days.

SETH: 40 days.

FIREHIWOT: And we break our fasting, we like to have a veggie and a vegan platter.

SETH: Wow.

Okay.

And... Oh, it looks like we've got one more addition to the meal here.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

This is the main thing.

Our coffee ceremony.

SETH: Oh, wow.

These incense.

FIREHIWOT: Yeah.

This is big part of our culture, the coffee, the tea.

SETH: I'm so used to starting my day with a cup of coffee, but this is a post-meal thing?

FIREHIWOT: Yeah, so we do after meal because we need time to talk.

So some people do with the sugar and the salt and then even the butter.

SETH: Butter.

Okay.

FIREHIWOT: Yes.

But I prefer with sugar.

And then while we do the coffee, you know, we talk about day, you know, our problems.

SETH: All right, well, this definitely has to cool down.

But Abay, what's it been like for you to watch your daughter carrying on some of the recipes that you taught her?

SETH: I can only imagine.

And one thing that I've always enjoyed about Ethiopian dining, Ethiopian experiences is it's just so communal.

Everything is shared.

There's so much ceremony involved.

SETH: Well, that's beautiful.

And I'm guessing the coffee, it might've cooled down enough... FIREHIWOT: Yes.

Now you can have a drink.

SETH: ...That I can consume it.

FIREHIWOT: Sure.

SETH: Here we go.

SETH: Ooh.

FIREHIWOT: Nice.

SETH: Nice and strong.

FIREHIWOT: Yeah.

SETH: The coffee, just like the vegetables, bold and fresh flavors.

Everything here has been so wonderful.

Thank you so much for welcoming me into this space.

FIREHIWOT: Thanks for coming.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: To find out more about great food in the Washington Metro area, visit weta.org/signaturedish.