Seitan recipe

[Blinky]

Can anyone give me a recipe for seitan. Thank you!

[Teejay]

Depends whether you want simple or impressive!

Simple:
Buy gluten flour. Add to it whatever you want to flavor it. I use onion powder and a little paprika (couple of teaspoons of each per cup of gluten flour), a dash of olive or canola oil, or tahini. Then mix with water -- just less than one cup water will work with one cup gluten flour. Knead dry + wet till you have a nice firm smooth ball of dough. Divide into smaller pieces as they swell when simmered.

Fill a big pot with a couple quarts of water, to which you add stock cubes or powder and a good dash of shoyu or tamari. Bring this up to the boil (make sure the pot has a lid or cover). When boiling, add the dough pieces, and turn down to simmer with lid partly covering. Let it simmer for 50-60 minutes. When done, remove from liquid and cook in whatever dish you need it for -- e.g. I might chop it up and add it to a pasta dish, or a curry, or slice it and fry for hot sandwiches.

This makes a firmish texture. If you want it softer and stringy, for certain imitation Asian-style dishes, put the dough in the liquid while it's still coming up to the boil.

It really is that easy: take the dry gluten flour, mix with almost equal part water after adding in a little seasoning. Just remember to start about an hour before you want to make the meal.

Impressive: the most delicious way I have made it is as a roast in the oven, instead of on the stovetop. (The liquid gets poured over the pan in stages and it absorbs as it roasts.) I really recommend Beverly the vegan chef's recipe for this which you can find on her site at www.veganchef.com -- it's called Unturkey Seitan Roast or something similar. For this recipe you make the liquid mix up in a blender but you could do it without by adapting what goes into the liquid.

It would have to be about the easiest and most delicious protein there is. Just keep experimenting until you get the texture you want.

I can get the gluten flour in Kroger's (Bob's Redmill) or another brand in a small box from my health food store.

Happy seitan making and eating...

[Blinky]

Thank you so much TeeJay! I can't wait to try it.

[sophie]

Well, I had my first-ever go at making seitan, using teejay's recipe, and it turned out really well! I used it to make a delicious pasta sauce with mushrooms and garlic, and sliced leftovers to make "steaks" which I dredged in flour and curry powder and fried in a little oil. Not exactly healthy but a nice treat. So, now I'm on the lookout for other ideas on how to cook seitan- anyone have any tips?