Let's talk about seitan!

avingers

Ive never prepared seitan at home, love it at vegan and Thai restaurants, so I bought a package of the Upton Naturals brand seitan at Whole Foods to try. Korean bbq seitan tacos are awesome, so I made them for dinner tonight. Now I don't know if I didn't cook the seitan long enough or what, but it was very firm and chewy, not tender like I have had it from restaurants. Is there a pre cook tip I'm missing out on, or is this brand just forever firm and squeaky? Should I have soaked it, or steamed it first before pan frying in sauce? What do we know? Thanks!

jennybearlv

I think prepackaged seitan is already cooked. You would just warm it. You can make seitan at home from wheat gluten. Mix 1 cup gluten with 3/4 cup water and knead like you are making bread. I'm lazy and just use the dough blade on my food processor. Let it rest covered for a half hour. Form into two logs and simmer in stock with the lid on for at least an hour until they are done to your liking. It will get more dense the longer you cook it.

HeidiCooksSupper

Jenny's right. You can make it yourself and you can, after a couple experiments, get it to be exactly the flavor and consistency you want. There are a b'zillion videos on Youtube showing you how to do it. You can start with a box of vital wheat gluten -- or even with flour and wash out the starch by hand. I've only done it with the box of gluten. You can make a big loaf of it, cut it into meal-sized portions and freeze them. Thank you for reminding me. It's probably time for a seitan stir fry at our house and there's a meal's worth left in the freezer.