Homemade Seitan
by IsaChandraMakes 1 pound
Wheat meat! No need to spend a ton of money or time on seitan. This method is simple and delicious.
But before we begin, let’s address some of the seitan pitfalls. The biggest mistake made by young, aspiring seitan makers is boiling instead of simmering. Boiling is great if you’re trying to create fake brains, but for all other purposes, a gentle simmer will create the tender chunks of seitan that are perfect for slicing and sauteeing.
Which brings us to the next rule of seitan, which is to always gently sautee the seitan in a little olive oil before adding it to recipes. Seitan that has only been boiled tastes okay, but for great texture – crisp on the outside, tender on the inside – a 5 minute saute is all you need. Using a cast iron pan to saute will score you even more points, because it gives the slices great charred flavor, too.
Oh, one last thing: I’ve changed the directions and ingredients a bit to make it foolproof, so if you’ve made this recipe before please give the directions a scan before proceeding.
1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 cup cold vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated on a microplane grater
For the simmering broth:
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
Fill a stock pot with the water, broth and soy sauce, cover and bring to a boil.
In the mean time, in a large bowl mix together gluten and yeast. In a smaller bowl mix together broth, soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Pour the wet into the dry and combine with a wooden spoon until most of the moisture has absorbed and partially clumped up with the dry ingredients. Use your hands and knead for about 3 minutes, until it’s an elastic dough. Divide into 3 equal pieces with a knife and then knead those pieces in your hand just to stretch them out a bit. Let rest until the broth has come to a full boil.
Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer. Add the gluten pieces and partially cover pot so that steam can escape. Let simmer for 45 minutes, turning occasionally. Turn the heat off and take the lid off, let sit for 15 minutes.
Remove from broth and place in a strainer until it is cool enough to handle. Slice and use as desired.
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