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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
    DiannaOnMaui wrote: »
    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
    caitlinj406 wrote: »
    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
    DiannaOnMaui wrote: »
    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
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    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
    lululapagaille wrote: »
    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
    caitlinj406 wrote: »
    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
    caitlinj406 wrote: »
    lululapagaille wrote: »
    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
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    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: 1,488 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
    tarun_yadavA wrote: »
    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...
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