So this is a recipe that I really HAVE to share with you all. I make seitan once every couple weeks on the weekend, because it lasts ages, you can freeze it, it’s a brilliant source of protein and you can do so much with it.
There are loads of seitan recipes knocking around the internet, and I’ve tried making plenty of them. I prefer making this one as it’s one of the easiest and I always have the ingredients ready to go. Vital Wheat Gluten can be hard to find, but check your local Whole Foods, Holland & Barrett or health food store and you should be able to pick up a pack. Make sure you get vital wheat gluten – if that’s not what it says, it’s not what you want! You can also order online
This recipe is for seitan “steaks”, so whatever you would use a steak for (if you were a meat eater…), you can substitute this for it. Steak burgers, Philly cheesesteaks, gyros, kebabs or stew – whatever your gorgeous vegan heart desires.
It’s not a quick recipe, but it’s well worth the effort!
Enjoy 🙂
Ingredients
1 cup Vital Wheat Gluten (I used Suma
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder or granules
pinch of salt
3/4 cup of water (more if needed)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, plus extra for marinating
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
5 cups of water
2-3 bay leaves
Instructions
Add the five cups of water and bay leaves to a large pot and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat until the water is only just simmering. If the water is boiling too fast this will make the seitan expand more and become more sponge-like. We don’t want that…
While waiting for the water to boil, add the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Add the 3/4 cup water, soy sauce and tomato paste to the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Add a little bit more water here if needed (if all the wheat gluten hasn’t mixed in properly).
Knead the dough for about a minute and then let it rest for five minutes or so.
After five minutes, return to the dough and knead again for another minute.
Split the mixture into four or five steaks. The seitan will expand a bit, so make sure your steaks aren’t too big to start with! Try to flatten them as much as possible – use a floured rolling pin if that helps.
Add your steaks to the simmering pot of water and bay leaves, cover, and allow to simmer for 30 – 40 minutes.
While your steaks are simmering, add about a tablespoon of soy sauce or tamari to a bowl.
When the steaks are ready, allow to cool for 10 minutes or so.
Once cooled, dip the steaks into the soy sauce and press to allow the sauce to penetrate the steaks. You can leave them in the fridge at this point, or cook straight away.
Heat a fry pan or grill pan on medium high heat and carefully place the steaks in the pan. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until crispy edges start to form, or if using a grill pan, until you get those black lines along the steaks.
Use as you wish… try not to eat a whole one right after they come out of the pan 😉
Time to make: 5 minutes to mix the ingredients, 5 minutes to knead and let the dough breathe, 40 minutes simmering, 5 minutes dipping in soy sauce, 5 minutes in the frying pan = 1 hour
On a scale of easy (1) to pull your hair out difficult (5) = 2.5, relatively easy to mix and assemble but there are a few different steps… and plenty of dishes!
#nowplaying : Hookworms – Static Resistance
