Make Your Own Seitan

I love seitan. It’s delicious and nutritious, and you can do so many things with it. But it can get a little pricey, especially if you put it away like I do!

A much cheaper alternative is to make your own. All you need are a few basic ingredients and a little time.

HOMEMADE SEITAN

Dough:
1 1/2 C vital wheat gluten
1 t garlic powder
3 T nutritional yeast
1 C vegetable stock
2 T soy sauce

Broth:
3-4 C water
1/4 C soy sauce
1 t liquid smoke (optional)

Mix the garlic powder and yeast into the gluten flour ginger. Combine the vegetable stock and soy sauce and pour this mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix into a stiff dough.

Knead the dough until it is completely mixed and has a rubbery texture. Let the dough rest for a few minutes and then knead it again. Let it rest another 5-10 minutes to relax the dough.

Cut gluten into 8-10 even pieces. Stretch the pieces out into thin cutlets. The dough is so elastic it will want to keep shrinking back to its original shape. Just do the best you can. Remember, they don’t have to look pretty to taste good!

Put seitan pieces in broth and bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the seitan cool in the broth for another 30 minutes.

You can use the cutlets as they are, chop them up for use in recipes, or freeze them for later use.

Morningstar Farms Veggie Steak Strips

Mmm, fajitas! In an effort to save money, we went to the grocery store tonight instead of going out to dinner. I grabbed a bag of these Meal Starters, some corn tortillas and bell peppers, and a fajita seasoning mix. Less than 30 minutes later, hey presto, we had a delicious dinner!

I like the toughness of the strips, they’re firm but not too chewy. The taste is good, a little bit spicier than I was expecting but it didn’t burn a hole in the roof of my mouth. They are coated with a mixture of spices which taste fine but give the strips a texture I wasn’t crazy about.

I’ve gotten the Steak Strips before, and one of my other favorite things to do is saute them and put them on a salad. I like the combination of the hot strips and the cold, crispy salad greens.

I can imagine a lot of great recipes you could use these in if you’re in a creative mood. My only major complaint is that although the bag they come in seems pretty big, you don’t get a lot of bang for your buck. One bag has about 30 small pieces, and I used a whole bag to make the fajitas.

Still, it was cheaper than eating out! Mission accomplished.

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Morningstar Farms Grillers Original

Like the name says, these are the “originals.” This is your basic veggie burger. They’ve improved the taste, and these actually have a good meaty flavor. I usually have a box of them in my freezer to use as quick meals or snacks – I sometimes skip the bun and just heat up a burger with ketchup, mustard, and sweet relish.

These microwave pretty well, but be sure to heat the patty all the way through. I’ve tried them cold, and the taste isn’t as good. Even worse, the cold burgers have an off-putting mushy texture that disappears when you heat them up. So make sure they’re nice and hot!

Grillers Originals hold up nicely on a grill, but if you are cooking them on a skillet make sure to grease the pan a little. Unlike real meat burgers, these don’t release fat as they cook. That’s not a bad thing, just make sure you use a nonstick spray.

One burger is only 130 calories, but it has 6 grams of fat (only 1 gram saturated and no trans fat). There are other veggie burgers out there with a lower fat content if that is an issue for you. On the plus side, you’ll get 15 grams of protein per burger, so it’s a great way to boost your protein intake.
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Seitan Worship

What is seitan?

The name is a little daunting (it’s pronounced say-tahn), but this is actually a very simple product and can be a great addition to the vegetarian diet.

Sometimes called ‘wheat meat’, seitan is made from wheat gluten, the protein part of wheat. It can be flavored in a number of ways, and its chewy texture is one of the closest matches to meat that you will find anywhere.

“Mmm, sounds good to me. So where do I find it?”

Some Chinese or Thai restaurants will offer dishes with seitan, usually calling it something like “mock duck”, “mock pork” or “mock chicken.” In addition, you can often find cans of ‘mock’ meat at Asian markets. Some of these contain a bit more oil, so you should watch the fat content.

White Wave makes a couple different flavors of seitan as well. These are easy to find in health food stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, and might even be available in your local grocery store.

Another option is to make your own seitan.

The traditional method of making seitan involves making a simple dough of water and flour, then kneading and rinsing the dough under running water to rinse out the wheat starch. In order to remove all of the starch, you would have to knead the dough for about 30 minutes. An easier method is to start with high gluten flour, or vital wheat gluten. This allows you to skip the kneading and rinsing step altogether.

It may take a few tries to achieve the desired texture and consistency of your homemade seitan. Some people prefer a lighter, softer texture, while others prefer a tough, chewy seitan. Also, during cooking you can add whatever flavors you want to the seitan, making it very versatile.