How To Make Perfect Seitan
It’s extremely versatile - it can be made with a multitude of flavors and textures. Seitan can be made to taste similar to beef, pork or chicken; the texture can be soft like pot roast or as firm as a cutlet or steak. Seitan is a great source of protein and is low in calories. If you have ever eaten a vegan “chicken” or “beef” dish in a Chinese restaurant or one of the many vegan meat products available, you have probably had seitan.
You can buy pre-made seitan in the refrigerated section of many supermarkets and health food stores, but it is less expensive to just make your own. Some people make seitan completely from scratch, rinsing the starch from wheat flour to get to the gluten. Luckily, we can also buy a bag of vital wheat gluten so that part is already done for us. Making your own seitan means you get to choose what flavors and spices go into it. Then you can add which texture you want it to have.
With these tips, you will be able to make perfect seitan and the most delicious meat-free meals of your life. Technically, all you need to make seitan is vital wheat gluten and water. But no one wants to sit down to a dish of pasty, flavorless dough. Many seitan recipes include some chickpea or garbanzo flour which is used to give the seitan a lighter texture.
This can also be done by adding nutritional yeast with the added benefit of lots of vitamins. The most common wet ingredients used in seitan are water, vegetable broth, olive oil and tamari, soy sauce or liquid aminos. Together, these dry and wet ingredients will be combined to make the seitan dough. Seitan that is chewier, such as ribs, requires less liquid than the soft, tender seitan you would want for a stew like this Seitan and Mushroom Bourguignon.
As with any meat you would prepare, seitan needs to be seasoned. One of the advantages of making your own seitan is that you can season it from the inside as well as on the outside. If I want my seitan to have a “beefy” flavor, I add tomato paste to the dough.
Sometimes I also add vegan Worcestershire sauce for that deep umami flavor. Then I choose herbs and spices associated with beef such as cumin, coriander, oregano, and paprika. Vegan “beefy” broth can also be used instead of vegetable broth to further boost the “beefy” flavor. On the other hand, if I want my seitan to be more like chicken, pork or just more neutral, I will use vegan “chicken” flavored broth and herbs such as thyme and sage. After the seitan is made, it gets more seasoning depending on how I am going to prepare it.
You do not want to eat seitan without cooking it somehow. At the very least, saute the seitan in some oil to give it a nice crust and added flavor. Chunks of seitan for a stew will get browned in seasoned flour before adding any liquids. Sliced seitan gets seasoned with garlic powder, celery salt, black pepper and cayenne when I am making a French Dip sandwich. Seitan ribs and steaks are flavored with spice rubs and/or marinades. Food is all about texture and flavor, so be generous when it comes to seasoning your seitan.
You might even choose to flavor your seitan with whiskey and pineapple to make these Pineapple Jack BBQ Sandwiches. Seitan is a dough, and like most dough, it needs to be kneaded. Kneading helps develop the gluten and brings elasticity and stretch into the dough. The longer you knead the dough, the more gluten you develop leading to a chewier seitan. If you want a less chewy and more tender seitan, knead it for a shorter period of time.
Most recipes require kneading the dough for an average of 3 minutes, followed by a 10-minute rest period and then a bit more kneading. As you knead the seitan, you will feel it change from a wet, sticky mixture to firmer dough; that is the gluten developing. You will be able to stretch the dough and watch it snap back into place; that is the elasticity. The most traditional method of making seitan, and probably the one everyone tries first, is simmering. Simmering may be the method of choice for tender, less chewy seitan.
