We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Seitan

lululapagaille
lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all ! I made a batch of classic, simmered in a fragrant stock, seitan yesterday, after trying seitan «hot dogs» a week ago... I'm impressed ! For lunch today, it tasted even better, it's full of plant based protein, and it filled me up all afternoon ! There are so many things to do with it, I've bookmarked tons of recipes and I'm excited to sample them.
Who else digs Seitan ?

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I love seitan. I'm having some steak-style seitan in chili tonight. It's a fantastic source of protein and when you make it yourself you can do so many different things with the flavor.
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    Yes ! And although it's long to cook, it is super easy to make.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    I've got 1.5 lbs in my freezer, atm... waiting for a good time to be used.
  • sarahshinks2233
    sarahshinks2233 Posts: 55 Member
    I am getting better at making it - not sure what I am doing wrong. Sometimes maybe not enough liquid, but it disintegrates a little in the broth and then is not great texture wise. I love using it different ways and finding out new recipes!
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited May 2017
    Here's my recipe. It all comes together in the food processor.

    ix2yjo726qln.png

    1. Combine wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, and paprika in a food processor. Pulse to blend. Add olive oil, 3tbsp soy sauce, and cold water and process for a minute to form a dough. Turn mixture out onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes.
    2. In a large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients to make the simmering liquid.
    3. Divide seitan dough into 4 equal pieces and place in liquid. Bring just to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer gently, turning occasionally, for one hour. Turn off heat and let seitan cool in the simmering liquid. Once cool, it can be used right away, refrigerated for a week, or frozen for 3 months.

    Note: As far as the nutritional info, I'm really looking just at the calories for me personally. Since the ingredients of the simmering liquid contain negligible, I haven't calculated for how much, for example, sodium in the simmering liquid was actually absorbed by the seitan; I've just calculated the gross calories, micros, and macros. If you are watching your sodium (or whatever else the 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 2 cloves of garlic contain), sorry for the inaccuracy!

    ETA: Source—1,000 Vegan Recipes
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    https://richbitchcooking.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/4-vegan-sausage-recipes-seitan/
    I have made the sausages with bbq sauce.
    Very good taste but the texture was not amazing.
    Yesterday I mixed gluten flour with a little nutritional yeast and tomato paste, kneaded it for five minutes, cut into four pieces and simmered it in a worecester sauce, onion, lemon sauce, turmeric stock for 45 minutes. After that I cut into nuggets sized bites and grilled in a little oil. (Recipe was from a blog in French) It tasted even better reheated today. Yum !
    Didn't feel peckish in the afternoon. Success !
  • DiannaOnMaui
    DiannaOnMaui Posts: 27 Member
    My new go-to is Tempeh. We have a local company that makes it. Not a huge fan of seitan - it always seems slimy to me.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    My new go-to is Tempeh. We have a local company that makes it. Not a huge fan of seitan - it always seems slimy to me.

    You need to try it baked and you will have something that isn't as hard to mess up as simmered, no slime at all. I add a touch of liquid smoke for a smokey roast flavor, but not too much or turns bitter.
  • caitlinj406
    caitlinj406 Posts: 35 Member
    I love seitan but rarely make it. Vital wheat gluten is a little hard to find here but maybe I just need to order a large bag off Amazon. Every time I make it I notice how much protein it has and how versatile it is. My favorite thing to make is a mock Mongolian beef stir fry.
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    I love seitan but rarely make it. Vital wheat gluten is a little hard to find here but maybe I just need to order a large bag off Amazon. Every time I make it I notice how much protein it has and how versatile it is. My favorite thing to make is a mock Mongolian beef stir fry.

    Do you have a recipe for the Mongolian «beef» ? I ate at a vegan vietnamese restaurant this weekend and the mock meat was unbelievable. They said it was soy protein.
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    My new go-to is Tempeh. We have a local company that makes it. Not a huge fan of seitan - it always seems slimy to me.

    I would love to try Tempeh. Do you make it yourself ? I never tried because it seems over complicated...
  • kavahni
    kavahni Posts: 313 Member
    Started making that back in the 70's using The Farm Cookbook, back in the day before the fancy name. Used to be called "glutens."
    Now that I am gluten intolerant, I miss it so! Baked BBQ glutens....uh-huh.
  • kazminchu
    kazminchu Posts: 250 Member
    I have a question about seitan! I have only tried it once, but I bought a jar of it pre-made to try, and it was so disgusting I had to throw it out after a couple of bites. It smelled and tasted very sulphuric, like rotten eggs. Did I just get a bad jar, or is that how it is supposed to taste?
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    kazminchu wrote: »
    I have a question about seitan! I have only tried it once, but I bought a jar of it pre-made to try, and it was so disgusting I had to throw it out after a couple of bites. It smelled and tasted very sulphuric, like rotten eggs. Did I just get a bad jar, or is that how it is supposed to taste?

    The smell and taste are more earthy, like a complex subtly yeasty grain-like aftertaste coming through whatever flavorings you added to the seitan, but I would not describe it as sulphuric or rotten. It may have been a bad jar or unsuccessful flavor profiles (seitan heavily depends on added flavorings).
  • kazminchu
    kazminchu Posts: 250 Member
    kazminchu wrote: »
    I have a question about seitan! I have only tried it once, but I bought a jar of it pre-made to try, and it was so disgusting I had to throw it out after a couple of bites. It smelled and tasted very sulphuric, like rotten eggs. Did I just get a bad jar, or is that how it is supposed to taste?

    The smell and taste are more earthy, like a complex subtly yeasty grain-like aftertaste coming through whatever flavorings you added to the seitan, but I would not describe it as sulphuric or rotten. It may have been a bad jar or unsuccessful flavor profiles (seitan heavily depends on added flavorings).

    Ah, yes that's more like the flavour I was hoping/expecting to have. Must've been a dodgy jar, I will brave it again someday and hopefully be amazed!
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    kazminchu wrote: »
    I have a question about seitan! I have only tried it once, but I bought a jar of it pre-made to try, and it was so disgusting I had to throw it out after a couple of bites. It smelled and tasted very sulphuric, like rotten eggs. Did I just get a bad jar, or is that how it is supposed to taste?

    I heard and have read that store bought seitan is really not tasty. But your experience sounds particularly bad ! It's worth trying to make your own. Let us know how it goes if you do :)
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    kavahni wrote: »
    Started making that back in the 70's using The Farm Cookbook, back in the day before the fancy name. Used to be called "glutens."
    Now that I am gluten intolerant, I miss it so! Baked BBQ glutens....uh-huh.

    Oh no ! I have no problem with gluten, but I was a little weary the first time I made seitan just in case it turned out I had !!
  • caitlinj406
    caitlinj406 Posts: 35 Member
    Do you have a recipe for the Mongolian «beef» ? I ate at a vegan vietnamese restaurant this weekend and the mock meat was unbelievable. They said it was soy protein.
    I usually just google a sauce recipe but beware, it's delicious because it's mostly brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic. Otherwise I just stir fry onion, broccoli, and seitan strips and then add the sauce. And the soy protein they mentioned might have been soy curls. They are amazing!
  • caitlinj406
    caitlinj406 Posts: 35 Member
    kazminchu wrote: »
    I have a question about seitan! I have only tried it once, but I bought a jar of it pre-made to try, and it was so disgusting I had to throw it out after a couple of bites. It smelled and tasted very sulphuric, like rotten eggs. Did I just get a bad jar, or is that how it is supposed to taste?

    Are you sure it was seitan? I've never seen it in a jar and have never experienced it as sulphuric. I find that the seitan sausage style links are a really great introduction to it, I really love the tofurkey ones.
  • kavahni
    kavahni Posts: 313 Member
    I can't imagine it coming in a jar. Vacuum packed, yes, but not in a jar. On the other hand I've never eaten commercially made.
    It should be chewy (and never slimey), and have little taste except for the flavors a you add--broths, oils, sauces, seasonings. It's a spectacular basis for any thing you might miss about meat. Well, unless you are fond of a bloody roast (ew).
    Making your own is a bit involved but can turn out a large quantity part of which can be frozen.
  • kazminchu
    kazminchu Posts: 250 Member
    kazminchu wrote: »
    I have a question about seitan! I have only tried it once, but I bought a jar of it pre-made to try, and it was so disgusting I had to throw it out after a couple of bites. It smelled and tasted very sulphuric, like rotten eggs. Did I just get a bad jar, or is that how it is supposed to taste?

    Are you sure it was seitan? I've never seen it in a jar and have never experienced it as sulphuric. I find that the seitan sausage style links are a really great introduction to it, I really love the tofurkey ones.

    Well , it -says- it's seitan, but I really have no idea as I've not tried it before.

    It's this stuff - http://www.veggiestuff.com/tofu-seitan-tempeh/biona-organic-seitan-350g

    I just wanted to try it pre-made before I bought a sack of gluten as I'd be the only one eating it, and I'm not vegetarian so it wouldn't be a staple in my household.
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    I am wheat sensitive ( I still eat it, but sparingly) and I do like canned green jackfruit sometimes.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    edited May 2017
    giphy.gif


    just kidding, i love seitan! if anyone has excellent recipes i'd love to try them. lately i've been making it into a buffalo chicken substitute and putting it in wraps with a vegan blue cheese (tofu based) dressing and a bunch of chopped veg.

    i think it's my favorite meat substitute. and once you get the hang of making it, it comes together super quickly.

    all hail seitan!
    giphy.gif
    i also love gifs.

  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    Do you have a recipe for the Mongolian «beef» ? I ate at a vegan vietnamese restaurant this weekend and the mock meat was unbelievable. They said it was soy protein.
    I usually just google a sauce recipe but beware, it's delicious because it's mostly brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic. Otherwise I just stir fry onion, broccoli, and seitan strips and then add the sauce. And the soy protein they mentioned might have been soy curls. They are amazing!

    Ok I will have a look online then :) I'm unfamiliar with soy protein, yet another culinary discivery waiting for me ! Thanks.
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    edited May 2017
    giphy.gif


    just kidding, i love seitan! if anyone has excellent recipes i'd love to try them. lately i've been making it into a buffalo chicken substitute and putting it in wraps with a vegan blue cheese (tofu based) dressing and a bunch of chopped veg.

    i think it's my favorite meat substitute. and once you get the hang of making it, it comes together super quickly.

    all hail seitan!
    giphy.gif
    i also love gifs.

    Haha ! English isn't my first language and I hadn't caught on the prononciation lol ! I speak about it in French only. I can be a little slow sometimes ha ! Gotta love Ned Flanders ;)
  • caitlinj406
    caitlinj406 Posts: 35 Member
    kazminchu wrote: »
    Well , it -says- it's seitan, but I really have no idea as I've not tried it before.

    It's this stuff - http://www.veggiestuff.com/tofu-seitan-tempeh/biona-organic-seitan-350g

    I just wanted to try it pre-made before I bought a sack of gluten as I'd be the only one eating it, and I'm not vegetarian so it wouldn't be a staple in my household.
    I'm not familiar with the brand but it's definitely seitan, must have just been a bad batch or something. And I understand about not wanting to get too invested when you know you won't eat it often.
  • kavahni
    kavahni Posts: 313 Member
    "I just wanted to try it pre-made before I bought a sack of gluten as I'd be the only one eating it, and I'm not vegetarian so it wouldn't be a staple in my household."

    You can use regular flour--you just won't end up with as much--or you can get a smaller amount of gluten flour in the bulk section of the grocery store.
  • tarun_yadavA
    tarun_yadavA Posts: 1,482 Member
    For those of you in London...
    There's a Vegan Fried chicken joint, called "Temple of Seitan" ( <- geddit?! lol) where its all Seitan. Hipster-y - Yes; but hear its v.good & popular
  • kazminchu
    kazminchu Posts: 250 Member
    kavahni wrote: »
    "I just wanted to try it pre-made before I bought a sack of gluten as I'd be the only one eating it, and I'm not vegetarian so it wouldn't be a staple in my household."

    You can use regular flour--you just won't end up with as much--or you can get a smaller amount of gluten flour in the bulk section of the grocery store.

    Really? How do you do it with regular flour? I vaguely remember washing bread years ago to get the gluten out, is it a similar process?
  • lululapagaille
    lululapagaille Posts: 84 Member
    For those of you in London...
    There's a Vegan Fried chicken joint, called "Temple of Seitan" ( <- geddit?! lol) where its all Seitan. Hipster-y - Yes; but hear its v.good & popular

    Haha I'm going to London in August, will check it out. I also heard of a coconut pancake man in Camden...
This discussion has been closed.