Thursday, January 18, 2007

The Best Seitan EVER!

Today I made seitan. It was the best seitan I have ever made! Iused a variation of the Native Foods Recipe. It makes a lot. This batch will probably last 2 weeks (but I am the only one in my house that eats it!)

Here it is, two beautiful seitan logs of yumminess:

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Close up, it was good enough to eat by itself, but I still had some of Joanna's nooch sauce leftover, so I used it as a dipping sauce:

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Seitan Broth:
  • 10 cups water
  • 2 cups soy sauce
  • 10 cloves garlic (chopped in half)
  • 5 whole bay leaves
  • 3 two inch slices of fresh ginger (or one hand, chopped into chunks)
Seitan Dough:
  • 1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
  • 5 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2.5 cups water
  • 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
  • 3 green onions, only the whites (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper
  • cheesecloth
Directions:
Prepare broth, and place on stove, bring to simmer while preparing dough.
In a large mixing bowl mix the flours, slowly add water and form a stiff dough. Knead the dough about 70 times. I do it right in the bowl. Let rest 20 minutes.
After resting, take dough, in the bowl, to the sink and cover with water. Knead the dough until the water becomes milky, empty the bowl and repeat. Do this 10-12 times. By the 10th to 12th time, the dough will feel and look like the consistency of brains.
After the last rinse, add the onions, parsley, and spices. Mix thouroughly, by hand.
Divide dough into 2. Place 1 section of dough in the center of a large piece of cheesecloth and roll in tightly into a "log" shape. Tie the ends to secure. Repeat with the other piece.
Place both "logs"in the broth and simmer for 90 minutes.
Remove from broth and set on a plate to cool. Remove from cheesecloth. If the cheesecloth is sticking, run under some water, and it should come off easily. You can store it in the fridge (in foil) or in a plastic container. To keep it really moist, place some of the broth in the container.) Keeps in the fridge about two weeks, or indefinitely in the freezer.

9 comments:

mustardseed said...

Is there any replacement for cheesecloth? Don'tthink i have cheesecloth at home.

Anonymous said...

Why do you use whole wheat flour only to rinse it off later?

Anonymous said...

I notice some pockets of white translucency (like fat in real meat) in the sliced seitan - is that from the whole wheat flour that perhaps wasn't washed off completely? Could that be the reason for the flour in the recipe... to mimick pockets of fat? I forgot to mention that the sliced seitan looks incredibly DELICIOUS!

Joni Marie Newman said...

okay...you rinse it off, because what you are after is the gluten, not the starch. it is possible that those white globules may be some leftover starch, but my bet is on the onions.

Marty said...

Hi Joni,
What is the purpose of the whole wheat flour?
If it's to add bulk can we substitute wheat bran and increase the amount of VWG?

Is there something else the WW flour is bringing to the party?

Thanks

Marty
Marty's Flying Vegan Review
www.martysnycveggiereview.blogspot.com
@veganpilotmarty

Joni Marie Newman said...

Marty,
Structure! I have made plenty of VWG only seitan recipes, that are baked, and they are fine, but to boil it for so long, without the structure the WW provides, it would be too stringy and gummy.
Thanks,
Joni

Marty said...

Being a typical type A New Yorker I'm looking for a shortcut to the washing.

JayKayTee said...

Your seitan logs look like they have been browned. What is the cause of the browning color?

Joni Marie Newman said...

The boiling broth is brown!

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All recipes written by me, Joni Marie Newman, unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to refer to or link back to any of my recipes, but please ask for permission, and remember to give credit when reprinting recipes in their entirety. I do provide links to affiliate programs (such as Amazon) in which I receive a small commission for items purchased. I do not provide paid reviews. All reviews done on products or books are of my own unsolicited opinion. On occasion I may receive a book or product to review. I will note when this is the case, but rest assured, it will not affect the authenticity of my review. Thanks!--Joni