Ditching animal products doesn't have to mean losing out on flavour.

These clever and wide-ranging substitutes come recommended by chefs and restaurateurs who are experts at plant-based cooking.

This list will help you find alternatives for meat, eggs and dairy with just-as-satisfying results.

Anchovy

How do you get the salty intensity of this ingredient without the fishy aftertaste? "I use capers," says Shannon Martinez, who runs a popular vegan deli and Italian-influenced restaurant in Melbourne.

Bacon

Martinez makes vegan "bacon" for her venues by marinating and baking rice paper strips, which she's written about in her latest cookbook. For other DIY options, you can use everything from coconut flakes to shiitake mushrooms to mimic bacon: just look online for recipe ideas. Remember that liquid smoke helps amp up that charred flavour.

Prefer a store-bought alternative? They're easily found at supermarkets.

Beef

Jazmin Di Tommaso runs a vegan eatery in North Hobart and has a clever beef mince alternative.

"We use grated cauliflower in our bolognese sauce to add that chunky texture you'd traditionally get," she says.

She's tried this trick with red lentils in a shepherd's pie — but for Persian kebabs, she opted for plant-based mince (available at supermarkets). "I served it to my Persian family and they said it tasted like home."

Sharon Salloum, who co-owns a Syrian restaurant in Sydney's Darlinghurst, turns to legumes instead of beef. "I actually like using a dried soup mix of lentils, peas, chickpeas and beans."

Vegan entrepreneur Alejandro Cancino may have an Argentinian background, but he favours tempeh, an Asian fermented soybean product, for a beefy barbecue alternative.

The chef, who'll be opening a plant-based restaurant and cafe on the Sunshine Coast, prefers to make his own or source it locally. Tempeh can also be found at the supermarket.

Beef (and chicken stock)

Heaven Leigh, whose Sydney restaurant is best known for vegan yum cha, says good vego-friendly versions of beef and chicken stock can be found in supermarkets. You could try making your own by simmering dried shiitake mushrooms and kombu seaweed (both stocked at Asian grocers) — which is what Meg Tanaka does at her Japanese cafe and design store in Melbourne.

Salloum, meanwhile, calls cassia bark (combined with bay leaves) her secret weapon. "It is perfect in any stock you are making, soup, stew or even tea. With cassia, you don't need meat at all."

Burger patties

Jake Smyth is co-owner of several Sydney businesses (including one with a great reputation for burgers) and uses mushrooms — well-seasoned and heavily cooked in garlic — instead of hamburger patties. "We wanted to take the humble 'shroom and treat it simply and honestly to create a flavour punch that would make regular meat eaters change their order."

Cheese

Martinez produces dairy-free cheeses from scratch (such as mozzarella set in brine) for her vegan deli, but says good plant-based alternatives can be found at supermarkets.

Greek varieties are especially good, as there's a long tradition of vegan feta and other cheeses being made for religious reasons.

"What started as a Greek Orthodox product has turned into a giant vegan product," she says.

Smyth is revamping a much-loved 45-year-old Sydney music venue with a strong vegan menu. For the pizza, he'll be "blitzing brown onions into almond milk" as a "killer" alternative to a cheese base.

Or try Salloum's Middle Eastern suggestion: "Tahini is fantastic for hot or cold dishes for a creamy, dairy-free finish to a meal."

Chicken

Thanks to its absorbent nature, tofu can take on a wealth of different flavours, making it a versatile meat alternative. ( Unsplash: Anh Nguyen )

Instead of chicken, Smyth resorts to cauliflower: it only needs "a few tweaks to make it proper naughty like fried chook".

At Vinita Chumsri's vegan Thai restaurant in Sydney's Enmore, she uses cauliflower for her sticky sesame wings, while Leigh suggests crumbed tofu for chicken "kebabs".

If you grew up with a Sunday roast, you might like to try a whole roasted cauli instead.

Duck

A vegan duck dish has long been popular at Leigh's restaurant. "The inspiration comes from an old Chinese wheat-flour recipe that was common in temples amongst monks and vegetarians." Buddhists have been making mock meats from wheat gluten for centuries, so it's a smart move to take inspiration from them. Store-bought substitutes can be found in Asian supermarkets.

Egg

Di Tommaso uses chickpeas "a lot", particularly aquafaba (leftover brine from cooked chickpeas) for meringues and aioli. Aquafaba can be used in place of egg whites — just save the liquid from tinned chickpeas. Egg replacer is also sold at supermarkets.

Fish sauce

Vegan fish sauce is available at Asian grocers, but Chumsri prefers to use vegan oyster sauce (derived from mushrooms and also sold at Asian supermarkets) with soy sauce. Keen to make your own? We have a recipe from Hetty McKinnon that's vegan-friendly.

Lamb

"Smoked eggplant isn't just used for baba ganoush — it's great through salads and loads of other dishes for a 'meaty' flavour," says Salloum. She recommends well-cooked eggplant or stewed broad beans in place of lamb.

Milk

Soy milk used to be your only choice, but now there's a wealth of plant-based milk in your supermarket fridge and on the shelves. Martinez's personal preference is oat milk.

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Pork

Tinned jackfruit can double as a pulled pork substitute. Di Tommaso says this "huge lifesaver" can also work in tacos, on pizza or in a Morrocan-style stew. The key is buying young jackfruit that's canned in brine, available at Asian grocers (where many alternative ingredients are sold: like mushroom floss instead of pork floss).

Here's our recipe for quick vegan tacos, featuring barbecued jackfruit.

Prawn

Chumsri uses tofu "religiously", given its versatility. She blends hard tofu with cauliflower to create a mince for a prawn-like toast at her restaurant. Konjac "prawns" also mimic the crustacean's slippery flavour. Find this plant-based version at vegan and Asian grocers.