I have come to loathe making seitan because one attempt will turn out beautiful, the next all bloated and mushy. There's no consistency and dependability in the recipes I've tried using (namely the Veganomicon and VwaV recipes). So god(dess) bless Terry Hope Romero for her steamed white seitan recipe. Finally a seitan recipe that has thus far been fail-proof. The consistency is perfect--dense and chewy. It makes a bunch. And it only takes about 15 minutes to put together and 30 minutes to steam, compared to the hour+ for most boiled recipes. It's seriously great.
I *DO* season it differently, however, and the below recipe has been adjusted to include my seasonings (it's a very minimal change, poultry seasoning instead of curry powder)--what it yields will taste a bit more chickeny.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1.5 c. vegetable broth (or chicken flavoured broth)--I also add a dash of soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves (grated)
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1.5 c. vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 c. chickpea flour (you can also sub in all-purpose, but the chickpea's definitely more flavorful)
- 1/4 c. nutritional yeast
- 1 t. dried thyme
- 1/2 t. paprika
- 1/2 t. poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
DIRECTIONS
In a jug whisk together broth, garlic, olive oil. In a large bowl combine wheta gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, thyme, paprika, poultry seasoning, and salt. Form a well in centre of dry ingredients and stir well with rubber spatula until dough leaves side of the bowl.
Knead for 2-3 mins to develop gluten. I cheat at this stage and use the Kenwood chef to do the kneading on power 1 or 2.
Leave dough to rest for 10 min, knead again for 30 seconds.
Place dough on cutting board and cut into 4 equal pieces.
Tear off 4 X12 inch pieces of foil and place piece of dough in centre of foil, fold the short sides of the foil over the loaf, the fold over the ends the foil should be secure but loose allowing for it to expand. Place in steamer basket and steam for 30 minutes Allow the dough to cool to the touch before chilling in fridge or overnight.
Store seitan in the fridge tightly sealed in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks or freeze, defrost before use.
(Recipe from Viva Vegan, reposted at Food.com)
This recipe sounds really good. I'll have try it. Have you attempted the recipe from Vegan Yum Yum? TOTES easy!
ReplyDelete1.5 cups VWG
1 t. seasoning
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. olive oil
1 T nooch
3 T soy milk
3/4 c. water
Mix dry ingredients first, then add wet and knead.
Roll into a ball. Divide into 4ths. Then, flatten and put in a skillet that's been heating with 2 cups vegetable broth.
You want to gently simmer these cutlets. Simmer covered for 15 minutes, flip and simmer covered for another 15 minutes.
Use as normal.
This is my go-to now since it's so fast and doesn't have to boil for an hour while the first snows fall on the purple and red desert penguins of the jungle in order for it to turn out right.
Awesome! Thanks so much, Gina!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recipes, I want to make seitan now, it won't take long and the grocery store meat alternatives are expensive! Now I have to check out the price for Vital Gluten!
ReplyDeleteLL, Glad you are back at blogging again!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried Isa's new Seitan Roast?? Same idea as Terry's, could be the almost the same recipe, I didn't compare them, but the roast comes out beautifully, is easy, and as always, you can swap spices/flavors.
http://veganfazool.blogspot.com/2011/11/its-not-too-late-make-isas-seitan-roast.html
Isa and Terry are the queens of seitan, no?
XOXO
Variation in baking is often a result of flour measurement. Flour (or in this case vital wheat gluten) compacts easily, so depending on how you fill your measuring cup, you can end up with significantly more or less flour than the recipe calls for. Ideally, you should measure by weight rather than volume to solve this problem. If that's not possible, do this: fluff the flour/gluten gently with a fork, then gently scoop it into the measuring cup and level with the back of a knife. Hope this helps, and thanks for the quick seitan recipe...can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteWhile I rarely have a problem with homemade seitan and make it all the time, I do have to agree the Viva Vegan recipe rocks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe. I've been really lazy about cooking seitan for a while now. Whenever I see it in recipes I either move on to the next or substitute meatless chicken...I really should make a batch and freeze it!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to see the seitan get so much easier to make. to the person who wants to check out how much the Vital Wheat Gluten costs...check out the Bob's Red Mill catalog online. They have about the best prices. I like some of the "meat" analogs, but I think they are too processed. One last tip, if you can find an old cookbook called "Cooking With The Right Side of The Brain" by Vickie Rae Chelf it has really tasty food. The book is hard to find but worth the effort. I really like L.L.'s blog.
ReplyDeleteJanet
I just made this and it came out perfect! I had all but given up on making my own seitan due to bad batches, but my faith has been restored. I subbed tapioca flour for the chickpea flour, added a bit more garlic and doubled the poultry seasoning - because I'm insane.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe.
I just wanted to say thank you so very much for this seitan recipe! My boyfriend and I have made this countless times, and it is still one of our favorites. I am a vegetarian and he is a meat-eater, yet he absolutely loves this stuff and would prefer it over most meats.
ReplyDeleteOur favorite way to eat it is to cut it into pieces, fry it in very little olive oil and then coat it with Frank's Buffalo Sauce. YUM.
Thanks!!
Yes! Thank you! finally I made edible seitan. So happy I stumbled upon your blog.
ReplyDelete