Seitan

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 cup vital wheat gluten
• 3/4 cup water or 3/4 cup broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 cups broth, for cooking
• 3 -4 slices onions (optional)
• 2 -3 pieces fresh ginger (optional)

Recipe

• 1 combine gluten flour and dry spices in a medium sized bowl. in a separate bowl, mix soy sauce and 3/4 cup broth or water.
• 2 add liquid to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. after a few initial stirs, you’ll probably need to use your hands for this. do not use an electrical mixer! gluten will have a rubbery consistency. add more water a tablespoon at a time only if needed.
• 3 once mixture is well combined, knead 10-15 times, allow to sit for 5 minutes, then knead a few more times.
• 4 separate your ball of gluten into three or four smaller chunks. gently stretch each piece into a flat cutlet, around 3/4 inch thick. seitan will expand when cooking, so you’ll want to start out with somewhat thin cutlets. don’t worry about any holes that may form in the gluten.
• 5 add seitan to 4 cups of broth in a large pot and bring to a slow simmer. you can add extra spices or flavors to this broth as well. i like to add around a quarter cup of soy sauce, a few pieces of fresh ginger and several slices of onion for extra flavor. for a "fishy" seitan, add crumbled nori or other seaweed, or, for a chicken-flavored seitan, add some poultry seasoning and use a chicken-flavored broth.
• 6 cover pot and allow to cook for an hour or more. be sure to use a large pot and plenty of broth, as seitan will expand. seitan is done cooking when it has firmed up and expanded.
• 7 remove from broth, allow to cool and use in a recipe or make a seitan stir-fry. seitan keeps well in the freezer in a sealed container or zip lock bag, so make a double batch and freeze for later, thawing for an hour or two first before using.