Some refer to Seitan as "Wheat Meat." Seitan (Pronounced SAY-Tahn) is a wonderful, fabulous, tasty, high-protein, incredible, yummy meat substitute that looks a lot like meat, but without all the unhealthy elements of meat. When I make Seitan for our brood of eight children, the kitchen smells so fantastic and inviting that my children beg me to give them a piece when it first comes out of the steamer.
As a protein source, Seitan contains about 31 grams of protein per 4 ounce serving (which means it has more plant protein per serving than tofu), provides a modest amount of B vitamins and iron and contains no saturated fat or cholesterol. A 3 1/2 ounce serving contains 118 calories, 18% protein and less than 1% unsaturated fat. The same amount of beef has 207 calories and 32.2% protein and is high in saturated fats. As recent studies have shown, our need for protein is much lower than previously believed and any opportunity to remove saturated fats from our diet would be an excellent improvement.
I have tried many recipes for Seitan. I have baked it, boiled it but my all time preferred way to cook it is by steaming it. My favorite recipe is credited to Terry Hope Romero who wrote my favorite vegan cookbook called "Viva Vegan!" Her book is wonderful and every recipe I have tried has turned out beautifully.
The main ingredient that you will need to make your own Seitan is called Wheat Gluten. You may make your own but I am not that ambitious yet, so I purchase my gluten in bulk at my local grocer for pennies. It resembles flour but is finer and softer and is a slight beige color.
I will include Ms. Romero's recipe for you at the end of this post. First, you may ask what would you use Seitan for? We use it in any way that one might use animal protein. I fry it in stir fries, I drop it in soups, we chop it and use it in casseroles, we wrap tortillas around it for fajitas, and many more delectable meals. We marinate it in anything from BBQ sauce to exotic oriental and Tia sauces. One of our all time favorite tricks to use our Seitan is to steam Jasmine rice, and then to cube up some fresh warm Seitan and to take my home-made Crab Apple Jelly and boil it into a sauce and use it as a sort of sweet and sour sauce over the rice and chunks of Seitan. You could also take grape jelly and put it in the microwave and do the same sort of thing. Microwaving jelly allows it to become a liquid. I like to use our own home made jellies because I prosses them with organic sugars.
Here is that Seitan recipe for you. If you take the time to make this recipe you will enjoy a healthy and delicious food that will impress you...I promise!
Steamed White Seitan
by Terry Hope Romero (Go purchase her book she has 200 other recipes in it that will blow your mind!)
1 1/2 cups cold vegetable broth
4 cloves garlic grated
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup chickpea (garbanzo) flour (I grate my own flour in my Vitamix and I purchase the garbanzo beans in bulk at WinCo Foods)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
In a measuring cup whisk together the broth, garlic, and olive oil. In a large bowl combine the wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, thyme, paprika, cumin, and salt and form a well in the center. Pour liquid ingredients into the well and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes to develop the gluten. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then knead again for about 30 seconds. Place the dough on a cutting board and with a sharp knife cut into 4 equal parts. Shape each piece of dough into a small "loaf." Place each loaf into a piece of foil making sure to allow the foil enough room for the Seitan to expand during steaming. Place foil wrapped dough into steamer basket and steam for 30 minutes. After steaming allow the dough to cool for a few minutes before handling.
You now have a beautiful Seitan that you can use in your recipes just as you would use any other meat product.
A word or two from me (Chris) about clean up with gluten. Gluten sticks to cloth or to scrubby kitchen tools quite easily. What I do is use my hands and cool water to get off the remaining gluteny dough from my bowls, and spatulas. Once the gluten is down the sink, I then can use my kitchen dish rag to wash my bowls. I have ruined dishrags in the past because the gluten really does like cloth and even after being laundered I would see little "pills" of gluten on those rags. If I take the 2 minutes to hand wash those utensils with cool water, I don't have these issues.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. Please comment and share your experience and if you have any recipes using Seitan, we would love to see them.
Have a great day!
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