Was in Whole Foods the other day and caught the price of Seitan, which is used as a vegan substitute for meat (yep, its the other, other white, non-meat 😉 )- all the protein with none if the fat – and it was CRAZY expensive. Saw a variant of this recipe in the awesome Vegan on the Cheap: Great Recipes and Simple Strategies that Save You Time and Money
TIP: Don’t just slice and use this directly: slice and pan fry in a little oil to give it some crunch on the outside before you throw it in a stir-fry or whatever. We had some the other day in a variation of this recipe…
Seitan
1 3/4 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups cold vegetable stock
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
Broth:
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cups water
1 onion quartered
2 cloves garlic smashed
1/4 cup soy sauce
Fill a stock pot with the broth ingredients and bring to a boil.
In the mean time, in a large bowl mix together dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl mix together wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and combine with a spoon until most of the moisture has absorbed and partially clumped up with the dry ingredients. Knead by hand for 3 minutes, then let rest for 5. Divide into however many equal pieces you’d like (2-6) with a knife and then knead those pieces in your hand. Don’t work them too hard no matter how much you stretch they’ll probably stretch back, they kind of have a mind of their own.
Once the broth has boiled, lower the heat to a simmer. Add the gluten pieces. Let simmer for an hour. Once done, take them off the heat and let them sit in the broth until cool.
Will keep a few days wrapped in the fridge or weeks in the freezer, if tightly wrapped.