Seitan
Seitan is one of my favorite kinds of meat substitutes. It's delicious, easy to make, and requires only 8 ingredients. Super simple!
Servings: 4
Calories: 154kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder optional
- 1 teaspoon onion powder optional
- 1 cup water at room temperature
- 8 cups vegetable stock
- ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
- A small piece of kombu optional
Instructions
- Add the vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, garlic, and onion powder to a bowl and stir until well combined.
- Add the water and mix until all ingredients are well combined. You don't need to knead the seitan, just mix until well combined, that's all.
- Place the seitan in the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.
- Make a ball with the seitan dough. It doesn't have to be perfect as it won't change the flavor or texture, just will make your seitan more beautiful.
- Add all the remaining ingredients to a large pot (vegetable stock, tamari or soy sauce, and kombu), stir, and bring to a boil. Then add the seitan.
- Simmer partially covered for 1 hour. You don't need to stir while it's cooking.
- Remove from the heat and allow it to cool a bit.
- You can use your seitan immediately or refrigerate it in an airtight container in the stock for about 7-10 days. You can also freeze it in an airtight container, but discard the stock and cut the seitan into big chunks (or slice it) before freezing it. It can last up to 6 months in the freezer.
- Use it to replace meat in any dish or recipe you want like vegan fajitas or vegan tacos.
Notes
- I find this recipe is more precise if you use a measuring cup as the weight of the vital wheat gluten may vary from one brand to another, but if you don't have one, just use a regular cup or mug and add the same volume of vital wheat gluten and water. You can also use a scale and add more or less water if needed.
- This recipe can be made using only vital wheat gluten, but I think seitan has a better texture if you also add some type of flour. Garbanzo bean or chickpea flour is also a good choice.
- Garlic and onion powder are completely optional, but they will make your seitan taste even better.
- Vegetable stock and tamari or soy sauce give the seitan an amazing flavor and also a beautiful color. If you don't consume soy, just add some salt to taste.
- You can make your own vegetable stock from scratch using the veggies you have on hand or even some vegetable scraps. I find boullion so convenient, but store-bought vegetable stock is also okay. You could use water, but you'll get really bland seitan.
- Kombu is a seaweed (just in case you haven't heard about it before) and it's also optional. I use it to infuse the stock and to make the seitan more flavorful.
- It's really important to use a large pot as the seitan doubles its size while cooking.
- Feel free to cut the recipe in half or double the ingredients if you want. If you make a large ball, it could be a good idea to divide the dough.
- Cooking time doesn't include the time you need to wait while the seitan is resting.
- Nutritional info is not accurate as I don't include the ingredients we're going to discard later (vegetable stock, tamari or soy sauce, and kombu). I can't know the exact amount of those ingredients that the seitan absorbs while cooking. That's why the amount of sodium of the seitan is higher than 10 mg.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 154kcal | Carbohydrates: 13.3g | Protein: 24.4g | Fat: 0.7g | Sodium: 10mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 0.4g