4 easy steps to homemade seitan

2-chili seitan shitake saute

seitan.  i dread how that sounds however you pronounce it.  it’s like voldemort.  ahm, anyway, seitan, which was more popularly known to us long, long ago as TVP (textured vegetable protein) and long ago as vege-meat, is referred to in vegan blogs sometimes as wheat meat, meat substitute, or vital gluten.  it is a very common meat substitute in many vegan recipes since it is believed to supply a good amount of protein which purportedly is lacking in a vegan diet.

i coined the tagalog word harne from harinang karne (wheat meat).  very suitable word, ano?  it is a phonetically softened down form of the harder guttural karne (animal meat).

ok, to make seitan, you will need:

½ kilo hard flour (bread flour)

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne

300-350 ml tap water

(this recipe will yield ¼ kilo seitan enough for a dish or two of stir-fry or saute w/ or w/o accompaniment.)

note:

- if you can buy vital gluten flour, or vital wheat flour, just follow easy steps #1 & #4. 

- all-purpose flour will do but it contains less protein.  it also absorbs less water, so reduce the amount of water by about 50-100 ml.

- whole wheat flour contains too little vital gluten so it isn’t ideal to use in making seitan.

ok, here goes...

easy step #1 - mix flour, spices and water. 

mix the flour, spices and water.  could anything be easier?  you could even ask your 3-year old child to do this step for you.  

use a wooden spoon (initially) to mix the flour and spices with the water.  as the mixture forms into a dough it gets heavier and harder to mix with the wooden spoon.  scrape everything that stuck to the wooden spoon with a spatula or rubber scraper back to the dough mixture. 

ok, time to use your hands and fingers.  massage (knead) the entire dough all round for about 3-5 minutes.  yah, it could be sticky.  note: if you have a heavy duty (e.g. 4qt, 5qt or 6qt) table-top electric mixer with a dough hook, like i do :))) just dump all the ingredients in the bowl and crank at low to medium speed for about a minute or two.  

ok, this is needless, but you could use some lard, margarine or oil on your hands so the dough won’t stick.  ahm, that was needless because you could rinse and drop all the dough that stuck to your hands right back to the mother dough, underwater.

go to easy step #2.

easy step #2 - soak the dough in water.  

place the dough in a deep bowl or basin, or a small gallon or pail (1-2 gallon capacity) and fill with water.  this step is for dummies!  leave it for a couple of hours and forget all about it for the meantime. 

no, it won’t froth and overflow the bowl and fill your house.  and no, it won’t climb out of the bowl and gobble up your dog and all your furniture. 

soaking in the water takes away the hi-carb starch from within the dough leaving you with the hi-pro gluten that you need.

go to easy step #3

easy step #3 - rinse the dough in water. 

before you throw the soak-water away, gently handle the dough (which has now softened into a gooey, slimy blubber gum) from the bottom of the basin with both hands, making sure that all the blob bits that have loosened away are reunited to the mother blob.  this is child’s play! 

pour out all the soak-water, making sure no more loose amorphous blobs pour out with the water.

now, fill up the basin again with water.  turn the gooey, slimy blubber gum inside out under water, gently pressing, rolling and stretching the blubber with your fingers and palms.  similar to what you do with bubble gum, chewing it with your teeth, rolling it in your mouth and stretching it with your tongue; only, you do this with your hands and fingers.  more fun and exciting than play-dough, right?!  you are now beginning to feel sleepy... ahm, where was i?  i mean, your are now beginning to feel how soft, smooth and elastic your gluten is.

repeat easy step #3 about 3-5 times or until the rinse-water becomes clear or slightly clear.  this is where you shape your future, ahm, i mean your seitan.  underwater.  wow!  could you really do that?  ahm, slowly and gently (at every repeat) bring the mass of blubber gum (less gooey and slimy now but still very elastic) to the shape you would want your seitan to take final form. 

seitan slabs (after simmering)

i shape my seitan like an elongated burger patty, ½ in. flat, 4 in. wide and a foot long (like a thin slab of sirloin beef) then cut it in the middle before simmering.  this way, after it’s done, i can easily slice it into strips for stir-fries and sautes. 

you see how much hi-carb starch you have removed from your dough?  i haven’t tried it yet, but this step had gotten me to thinking – can i use all that rinse-water to starch my levi’s?

go to easy step #4.

easy step #4 - simmer the dough in water. 

simmer the dough in, ahm, flavored water.  fill a saucepan with about 1 liter of water mixed with 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp catsup and 1 clove garlic (and 1 Tbsp of whatever vegan-friendly powder or liquid flavoring you use.)  well, almost everybody who makes seitan and has a blog will invariably tell you to do this.  so why not i?  ok maybe not almost everybody, but almost everybody of the 3 blogs i read, awright?  :)))

bring the soup to a slow simmer using low heat.  now, gently lower the gluten slab in the simmering solution with your hands or with a slotted spoon.  simmer for about 5-15 minutes or until the gluten slab floats. 

will it float?  will it float?  yah, it will float!  and when it floats, your seitan’s done!  that easy! 

now, download a recipe that uses seitan and you’re on your way to an exciting adventure in seitan cooking!