How does one be vegan and not crave meat?

What if one looked a meat as simply a habit. Maybe it's easy, because everyone else in the house eats it, maybe it's easy because they eat at quick serve restaurants, and it's what's on the value menu.
Maybe there are strong cultural connections, carcass on thanksgiving and Xmas, anyone?


Some years ago, I got a series of lung infections over three years. About 3/4 through the healing each time, I started to crave, of all things, fried chicken. I didn't care one way or the other for it as a child, and I went veg as an early teen.
My partner, omnivore, got some, and brought a small piece to me. I took two bites and immediately felt a response from my body.

It was, roughly, WTF?
So in year two when it happened again, he brought me a bit of just the breading.
Score. Hit the craving. But I still got grossed out by the grease. And I have eaten coconut oil off a spoon before, so it's not just the fat.

Year three, he got fried tofu, made with the same spices from a restaurant. (I'm in no shape to cook at this point, I'm drugged up and would likely set myself or the house on fire) It worked. Somehow, fried was a comfort trigger and spicy the needed healing.

So, what's the trigger for the craving? What will fill that?

Is this where I admit that when I was 15, I used A1 sauce on almost everything for six months? I thought I wanted a burger.

I made vegan white gravy at my moms a few years ago. She had chicken fried steak, with white/cream gravy. I vaguely remember liking it as a kid.
I put the vegan white gravy on latkes.
Southern raised, vegetarian and Jewish, oh, the things I've done to innocent food.