Post by Granny Smith on Nov 12, 2012 9:48:45 GMT -5
There are thousands of recipes online for making Seitan (aka Vegetarian 'Meat', Wheat Meat, or Homemade Gluten), but, just to get you started, here are a few versions and ideas.
This is the traditional method. It takes the longest, but I like it because it uses only basic ingredients. I included directions for using the rinse water, too~
Homemade Traditional Seitan
Making raw gluten from flour is a simple but step-wise process:
Select the flour
Mix with water and rest
Knead to develop the proteins into gluten
Soak and rinse to remove starch and bran
Shape the raw gluten, with or without additions
Season and cook to flavor and firm the gluten in a cold "simmering stock"
Use the prepared wheat meat as a base for cooked dishes
It takes a little practice and experimenting to get the perfect result, but you will learn quickly.
Flour
Use a high gluten flour such as bread flour if available for the best yield, but you can use all purpose flour is that is what you have. You will end up with an amount of gluten equal to about half the volume of flour you start with. Measure the flour. Use about half as much water to make the dough. You can do this in a food processor if you are making a small amount.
Add the Water and Rest
Mix flour and water to make a medium-stiff but not sticky dough. Then you knead the dough by hand on a breadboard or tabletop, until it has the consistency of an earlobe, which will take 10 to 20 minutes depending on your flour and your kneading skill. You may need to add a little water to get the right consistency. If you prod the dough with a fingertip, it bounces right back, leaving not a trace of the poking.
Once you have a nice firm ball of dough, let it rest before rinsing. If using white flour, this can be as little as an hour, several hours to overnight if whole wheat. To rest the dough, pour enough water into the bowl to cover the dough, and let it sit several hours or overnight.
Rinsing
Warm water loosens the dough and makes rinsing the starch out easier, so you usually start with warmer water. Cold water firms or tightens the gluten, so you usually finish with cooler water. The rinsing process takes about 10 to 20 minutes if the gluten ball was kneaded enough at the first mixing. If it was not kneaded enough, you will take longer and have more trouble keeping the gluten ball together, but don't give up, it will eventually come together.
When you start rinsing, drain the sitting water from the ball. Work and squeeze the ball in a bowl under warm water with your hands to loosen the dough (less than a minute). When the water takes on a milky appearance and you see specks of bran, pour this water off, holding bulk of the dough back with your hands.
When you have kneaded and rinsed it enough, the ball oozes a clear, not milky, liquid when you take it out of the water and squeeze it.
After the gluten is rinsed for the last time in cold water, it will have tightened up. It will look rather stringy. It will be tense, tough, and resistant to taking on any other shape. Put it in a clean bowl and let it rest at least 20 minutes, up to overnight, before shaping.
As the dough is washed, it will turn a sort of yellowy-brown, and feels sort of like wet clay. Small white nodules are unwashed starch and need to be washed away or picked out. The gluten is ready to simmer once all of these bits are gone, and there is little or no starch left.
You can stop here. Keep the washed gluten in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator. When the small holes in the gluten disappear, it means the gluten is ready to cook.
Additions and Simmering
Raw Gluten can now be cooked using any of the following methods:
* Vegetable steamer - 30 minutes, or until firm
* Double boiler - 30 minutes, or until firm
* Pressure cooker - 15 minutes at 15 lb. pressure (with or without broth seasoning)
* Microwave - Work seasonings into gluten by hand; vary them to taste. Cover ring mold with plastic wrap. Cook 10 minutes in microwave on full power, then flip and cook 10 more minutes. Let stand until cool. Slice, grind or chop in recipes in place of burger. Note: Freezing firms texture even more.
*Baking or Deep Fat Frying (Gluten Puffs) Tear off walnut-sized pieces of gluten. Place on oiled baking sheet about 2 inches apart and bake at 350 degrees until balls puff up and are light. Reduce heat and bake slowly until crisp and dry. Use in vegetable stews or soups, or grind to make meatless burger for loaves. Fully dried, it will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator.
If simmering, keep the simmering water just below the boiling point by adding some cold water before the water bubbles too much. When the gluten pieces rise to the surface, you can take them out.
Cut cooked, firm gluten into slices (for steaks or chipped "beef"); strips (for stir-fry or gravies); cubes (for chicken dishes); or grind (for "hamburger" or candy recipes).
The simmering stock must be cold before it is used. The cool starting liquid causes the gluten to contract and prevents the seitan from acquiring a bread-like texture. You will be using this stock to cook the seitan later.
If you only let the water for this cooking simmer, you get a firmer texture. Letting it boil gives a spongier texture - it's just a matter of taste which you prefer. Cook covered for 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the pieces. Make sure that it is a large pan with a lot of water or stock. The gluten will nearly double in size.
When the 20 to 45 minutes is up, remove the gluten.
Storing and Using the Prepared Wheat Meat
At this point it can be used immediately, or drained on a metal rack overnight in the fridge. Pressing the freshly cooked pieces with a fork or spatula also firms the texture, making it easier to cut into interesting shapes. Gluten can be kept in the fridge for about 2-3 days, and it can be frozen as well, although this seems to lose some of its firmness.
To store seitan, keep it refrigerated, immersed in the stock. If it is brought to a boil in the tamari stock and simmered for 10 minutes twice a week, the seitan will keep indefinitely. Otherwise, use it within 8 or 9 days. If refrigerated without broth, it can be kept for about 2-3 days. It can be frozen as well, although this seems to lose some of its firmness.
Noodles and Pancakes Made By Processing the water from washing gluten
In China, the water from washing the gluten is used to make other foods. The dehydrated deposit from washing gluten is called non-glutinous flour and is sold in the markets. It is often used for making semi-transparent wrappers for Chinese food, such as crystal dumplings. You can make a similar food from the washing water for your gluten.
The first time when you wash the dough, you wash it for a longer time. Do not dump the water from this first wash. Save it in the refrigerator in a separate container to make non-glutinous noodles or pancakes.
(1) Filter the water with a fine strainer. Keep the water in a container and store in the refrigerator for over 4 hours or overnight, to let the deposit settle.
(2) Remove from the refrigerator. Slowly pour out the clearer water on the top and allow the deposit to stay at the bottom. Do not pour all the water out, save an inch or two of it in the container. Stir the deposit evenly with a spoon, the texture should be like scrambled egg mix. This is the mixture to make non-glutinous noodles.
Making Non-glutinous Noodles
(1) Brush a little oil on the surface of a oblong metal pan. Pour noodle mixture in to the pan to form a thin layer.
(2) Place the pan in a pot filled with water and steam over high heat for about 15 minutes until noodle mixture puffs up a little and becomes a transparent sheet.
(3) Remove the pan from hot water and place it in a container filled with cold water and allow pan float until cool. After it cools down, use a spatula to remove the sheet from the pan and brush oil on both sides. Cut into strips . Mix with your favorite sauce, some cucumber shreds or other ingredients, and the delicious noodle is ready to serve.
The mixture can also be used to make frying pancakes or mixed with other kinds of starch to make various foods.
www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/rawglut.html
Quick Homemade Gluten
(Makes 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds or 2 to 2-1/2 cups)
This is the basic recipe for gluten.
2 cups gluten flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/4 cups water or vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons lite tamari, Braggs liquid amino acids, or soy sauce
1-3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)
Add garlic powder and ginger to flour and stir. Mix liquids together and add to flour mixture all at once. Mix vigorously with a fork. When it forms a stiff dough knead it 10 to 15 times.
Let the dough rest 2 to 5 minutes, then knead it a few more times. Let it rest another 15 minutes before proceeding.
Cut gluten into 6 to 8 pieces and stretch into thin cutlets. Simmer in broth for 30 to 60 minutes.
Broth:
4 cups water
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
3-inch piece of kombu (a type of seaweed)
3-4 slices ginger (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring broth to a boil. Add cutlets one at a time. Reduce heat to barely simmer when saucepan is covered. Seitan may be used, refrigerated, or frozen at this point.
Total Calories per 4 oz. Serving: 77
Fat: 0 grams
Note: It isn't in the original recipe, but this can also be baked at 325 for 90 minutes.
Original recipe and recipes for using it here~
www.vrg.org/recipes/vjseitan.htm
Slightly different recipe with good tips for making it~
www.theppk.com/2009/11/homemade-seitan/
Smoked Seitan
Step 1: Make Seitan
1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten*
¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes*
1 cup + 2 tablespoons. ice water
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons paprika
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
Liquid for simmering:
10 cups extremely cold water
1/3 cups low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
Combine gluten and nutritional yeast in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together water, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, lemon zest and spices.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine. Knead dough in the bowl for about 3 minutes until you have a spongy dough (this will look and feel like the most disgusting food ever). Excess liquid will accumulate in the bottom of the bowl, and that’s fine – just leave it in the bowl. Let rest for a few minutes, then shape into a log about 7 or 8 inches long. Cut into 3 pieces.
Put the cold water and soy sauce in a large saucepan and gently put the pieces of dough in the liquid. Partially cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for one hour, turning the pieces occasionally. Let it cool for ten minutes, then remove the seitan. As soon as it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze out all the liquid you can, being careful not to break the hunks of seitan. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap or place in a zip lock bag and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
* Vital wheat gluten and nutritional yeast are available at any health food store or markets like Whole Foods.
Step 2: Rub and smoke
Dry rub:
3 T. paprika
1 T. black pepper
1 T. sugar
1 T. chili powder
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. onion powder
1 t. cayenne pepper
½ t. dry mustard powder
Start a fire in your smoker. Soak wood chips (preferably hickory) for 45 minutes or more. Coat the seitan pieces in the dry rub mixture and put it on a grill basket or right on the grate. Throw some wood chips on the hot coals and close the cover. Smoke for 1 ½ hours, adding more soaked wood chips occasionally. If your smoker has a thermometer, keep the temperature at about 225.
Step 3: Sauce and eat
Barbecue sauce:
1 c. water
1 c. cider vinegar
2/3 c. ketchup
1 T. sugar
½ t. red pepper flakes
½ t. freshly ground pepper
1 t. salt
Whisk the sauce ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Let the smoked seitan cool for 5 minutes, then slice, drizzle with sauce and serve plain or on buns. (Note: It’s best served right after you smoke it – if you reheat it in an oven later, the edges will lose the crispiness.)
Source~
www.whatwouldcathyeat.com/2010/07/authentic-smoked-seitan/
Seitan can be flavored any number of ways and can be used in numerous recipes calling for meat. Here is a list of recipes that use Seitan~
vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/qt/seitanrecipes.htm
This is the traditional method. It takes the longest, but I like it because it uses only basic ingredients. I included directions for using the rinse water, too~
Homemade Traditional Seitan
Making raw gluten from flour is a simple but step-wise process:
Select the flour
Mix with water and rest
Knead to develop the proteins into gluten
Soak and rinse to remove starch and bran
Shape the raw gluten, with or without additions
Season and cook to flavor and firm the gluten in a cold "simmering stock"
Use the prepared wheat meat as a base for cooked dishes
It takes a little practice and experimenting to get the perfect result, but you will learn quickly.
Flour
Use a high gluten flour such as bread flour if available for the best yield, but you can use all purpose flour is that is what you have. You will end up with an amount of gluten equal to about half the volume of flour you start with. Measure the flour. Use about half as much water to make the dough. You can do this in a food processor if you are making a small amount.
Add the Water and Rest
Mix flour and water to make a medium-stiff but not sticky dough. Then you knead the dough by hand on a breadboard or tabletop, until it has the consistency of an earlobe, which will take 10 to 20 minutes depending on your flour and your kneading skill. You may need to add a little water to get the right consistency. If you prod the dough with a fingertip, it bounces right back, leaving not a trace of the poking.
Once you have a nice firm ball of dough, let it rest before rinsing. If using white flour, this can be as little as an hour, several hours to overnight if whole wheat. To rest the dough, pour enough water into the bowl to cover the dough, and let it sit several hours or overnight.
Rinsing
Warm water loosens the dough and makes rinsing the starch out easier, so you usually start with warmer water. Cold water firms or tightens the gluten, so you usually finish with cooler water. The rinsing process takes about 10 to 20 minutes if the gluten ball was kneaded enough at the first mixing. If it was not kneaded enough, you will take longer and have more trouble keeping the gluten ball together, but don't give up, it will eventually come together.
When you start rinsing, drain the sitting water from the ball. Work and squeeze the ball in a bowl under warm water with your hands to loosen the dough (less than a minute). When the water takes on a milky appearance and you see specks of bran, pour this water off, holding bulk of the dough back with your hands.
When you have kneaded and rinsed it enough, the ball oozes a clear, not milky, liquid when you take it out of the water and squeeze it.
After the gluten is rinsed for the last time in cold water, it will have tightened up. It will look rather stringy. It will be tense, tough, and resistant to taking on any other shape. Put it in a clean bowl and let it rest at least 20 minutes, up to overnight, before shaping.
As the dough is washed, it will turn a sort of yellowy-brown, and feels sort of like wet clay. Small white nodules are unwashed starch and need to be washed away or picked out. The gluten is ready to simmer once all of these bits are gone, and there is little or no starch left.
You can stop here. Keep the washed gluten in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator. When the small holes in the gluten disappear, it means the gluten is ready to cook.
Additions and Simmering
Raw Gluten can now be cooked using any of the following methods:
* Vegetable steamer - 30 minutes, or until firm
* Double boiler - 30 minutes, or until firm
* Pressure cooker - 15 minutes at 15 lb. pressure (with or without broth seasoning)
* Microwave - Work seasonings into gluten by hand; vary them to taste. Cover ring mold with plastic wrap. Cook 10 minutes in microwave on full power, then flip and cook 10 more minutes. Let stand until cool. Slice, grind or chop in recipes in place of burger. Note: Freezing firms texture even more.
*Baking or Deep Fat Frying (Gluten Puffs) Tear off walnut-sized pieces of gluten. Place on oiled baking sheet about 2 inches apart and bake at 350 degrees until balls puff up and are light. Reduce heat and bake slowly until crisp and dry. Use in vegetable stews or soups, or grind to make meatless burger for loaves. Fully dried, it will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator.
If simmering, keep the simmering water just below the boiling point by adding some cold water before the water bubbles too much. When the gluten pieces rise to the surface, you can take them out.
Cut cooked, firm gluten into slices (for steaks or chipped "beef"); strips (for stir-fry or gravies); cubes (for chicken dishes); or grind (for "hamburger" or candy recipes).
The simmering stock must be cold before it is used. The cool starting liquid causes the gluten to contract and prevents the seitan from acquiring a bread-like texture. You will be using this stock to cook the seitan later.
If you only let the water for this cooking simmer, you get a firmer texture. Letting it boil gives a spongier texture - it's just a matter of taste which you prefer. Cook covered for 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the pieces. Make sure that it is a large pan with a lot of water or stock. The gluten will nearly double in size.
When the 20 to 45 minutes is up, remove the gluten.
Storing and Using the Prepared Wheat Meat
At this point it can be used immediately, or drained on a metal rack overnight in the fridge. Pressing the freshly cooked pieces with a fork or spatula also firms the texture, making it easier to cut into interesting shapes. Gluten can be kept in the fridge for about 2-3 days, and it can be frozen as well, although this seems to lose some of its firmness.
To store seitan, keep it refrigerated, immersed in the stock. If it is brought to a boil in the tamari stock and simmered for 10 minutes twice a week, the seitan will keep indefinitely. Otherwise, use it within 8 or 9 days. If refrigerated without broth, it can be kept for about 2-3 days. It can be frozen as well, although this seems to lose some of its firmness.
Noodles and Pancakes Made By Processing the water from washing gluten
In China, the water from washing the gluten is used to make other foods. The dehydrated deposit from washing gluten is called non-glutinous flour and is sold in the markets. It is often used for making semi-transparent wrappers for Chinese food, such as crystal dumplings. You can make a similar food from the washing water for your gluten.
The first time when you wash the dough, you wash it for a longer time. Do not dump the water from this first wash. Save it in the refrigerator in a separate container to make non-glutinous noodles or pancakes.
(1) Filter the water with a fine strainer. Keep the water in a container and store in the refrigerator for over 4 hours or overnight, to let the deposit settle.
(2) Remove from the refrigerator. Slowly pour out the clearer water on the top and allow the deposit to stay at the bottom. Do not pour all the water out, save an inch or two of it in the container. Stir the deposit evenly with a spoon, the texture should be like scrambled egg mix. This is the mixture to make non-glutinous noodles.
Making Non-glutinous Noodles
(1) Brush a little oil on the surface of a oblong metal pan. Pour noodle mixture in to the pan to form a thin layer.
(2) Place the pan in a pot filled with water and steam over high heat for about 15 minutes until noodle mixture puffs up a little and becomes a transparent sheet.
(3) Remove the pan from hot water and place it in a container filled with cold water and allow pan float until cool. After it cools down, use a spatula to remove the sheet from the pan and brush oil on both sides. Cut into strips . Mix with your favorite sauce, some cucumber shreds or other ingredients, and the delicious noodle is ready to serve.
The mixture can also be used to make frying pancakes or mixed with other kinds of starch to make various foods.
www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/rawglut.html
Quick Homemade Gluten
(Makes 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds or 2 to 2-1/2 cups)
This is the basic recipe for gluten.
2 cups gluten flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/4 cups water or vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons lite tamari, Braggs liquid amino acids, or soy sauce
1-3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)
Add garlic powder and ginger to flour and stir. Mix liquids together and add to flour mixture all at once. Mix vigorously with a fork. When it forms a stiff dough knead it 10 to 15 times.
Let the dough rest 2 to 5 minutes, then knead it a few more times. Let it rest another 15 minutes before proceeding.
Cut gluten into 6 to 8 pieces and stretch into thin cutlets. Simmer in broth for 30 to 60 minutes.
Broth:
4 cups water
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
3-inch piece of kombu (a type of seaweed)
3-4 slices ginger (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring broth to a boil. Add cutlets one at a time. Reduce heat to barely simmer when saucepan is covered. Seitan may be used, refrigerated, or frozen at this point.
Total Calories per 4 oz. Serving: 77
Fat: 0 grams
Note: It isn't in the original recipe, but this can also be baked at 325 for 90 minutes.
Original recipe and recipes for using it here~
www.vrg.org/recipes/vjseitan.htm
Slightly different recipe with good tips for making it~
www.theppk.com/2009/11/homemade-seitan/
Smoked Seitan
Step 1: Make Seitan
1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten*
¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes*
1 cup + 2 tablespoons. ice water
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons paprika
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
Liquid for simmering:
10 cups extremely cold water
1/3 cups low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
Combine gluten and nutritional yeast in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together water, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, lemon zest and spices.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine. Knead dough in the bowl for about 3 minutes until you have a spongy dough (this will look and feel like the most disgusting food ever). Excess liquid will accumulate in the bottom of the bowl, and that’s fine – just leave it in the bowl. Let rest for a few minutes, then shape into a log about 7 or 8 inches long. Cut into 3 pieces.
Put the cold water and soy sauce in a large saucepan and gently put the pieces of dough in the liquid. Partially cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for one hour, turning the pieces occasionally. Let it cool for ten minutes, then remove the seitan. As soon as it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze out all the liquid you can, being careful not to break the hunks of seitan. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap or place in a zip lock bag and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
* Vital wheat gluten and nutritional yeast are available at any health food store or markets like Whole Foods.
Step 2: Rub and smoke
Dry rub:
3 T. paprika
1 T. black pepper
1 T. sugar
1 T. chili powder
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. onion powder
1 t. cayenne pepper
½ t. dry mustard powder
Start a fire in your smoker. Soak wood chips (preferably hickory) for 45 minutes or more. Coat the seitan pieces in the dry rub mixture and put it on a grill basket or right on the grate. Throw some wood chips on the hot coals and close the cover. Smoke for 1 ½ hours, adding more soaked wood chips occasionally. If your smoker has a thermometer, keep the temperature at about 225.
Step 3: Sauce and eat
Barbecue sauce:
1 c. water
1 c. cider vinegar
2/3 c. ketchup
1 T. sugar
½ t. red pepper flakes
½ t. freshly ground pepper
1 t. salt
Whisk the sauce ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Let the smoked seitan cool for 5 minutes, then slice, drizzle with sauce and serve plain or on buns. (Note: It’s best served right after you smoke it – if you reheat it in an oven later, the edges will lose the crispiness.)
Source~
www.whatwouldcathyeat.com/2010/07/authentic-smoked-seitan/
Seitan can be flavored any number of ways and can be used in numerous recipes calling for meat. Here is a list of recipes that use Seitan~
vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/qt/seitanrecipes.htm