SATAN. . . err SEITAN

I decided to make seitan for the following reasons, in no particular order:

1. It's my favorite meat substitute

2. I hadn't a clue what it was made of

3. It sounds like Satan; Hail Satan!

Seitan, sometimes referred to only as gluten, has it's roots in Japanese and Chinese culture, where it was first developed. Western cultures adapted seitan as a meat substitute mid-twentieth century, so it is relatively new to American culture.

I decided to go with a rather simple recipe; no spices added in. I'd like to try that eventually, but it's pretty easy to season after it's made so I decided to keep it simple, and it will be more versatile this way.

It turns out that it is much easier to make than it is to procure the necessary ingredients. Poor planning on my part led me to both the Willie Street Co-Op and Whole Foods in one day - a yuppie grocery shoppers dream!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1 cup very cold water or vegetable broth

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated on a micro-plane grater

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Simmering Broth

10 cups water or vegetable broth

1/2 cup soy sauce

You'll likely need to buy extra soy sauce; it ends up being quite a bit. Also, make sure you actually have vital wheat gluten flour; it's not the same as whole-wheat flour. Vital wheat gluten flour is essentially just the gluten part of wheat flour. It can be made with only whole-wheat flour, washing the flour dough until all of the starch dissolves. Vegan Internet blogs made this sound risky, so I decided to just buy the vital wheat gluten flour. Whole Foods had it, Bob's Red Mill brand. Nutritional Yeast Flakes were found at Willy Street Co-Op in bulk, which was nice and cheap. I used water, not vegetable broth. If you decided to use it let me know how it turns out! I decided all the soy sauce would be salty enough.

Directions:

To start, make sure you have the 1-cup water/10 cup water chilling. I mixed all two dry ingredients in one large bowl, and the moist to wet ones in another medium sized one. Mix the wet and dry ingredients and knead with a spatula. It's something like dough, but unlike any one I've dealt with in the past, very moist and rubbery.

Knead dough for three minutes, and then let it sit while you prepare the broth in a large pot (preparation involves mixing soy sauce and water). I hadn't let the 10 cup water chill long enough so I just but a bunch of ice cubes in. The cold water is important because it keeps the moist dough from falling apart.

Next, take your dough and roll it into a log, about 8 in long. Cut it into three pieces and set them in the pot. Bring water to a boil, and then let simmer for an hour. Cover the pot throughout the process, leaving it a crack open for steam. While simmering, turn the peaces with every 15 min or so.

Let the seitan cool for 30-45 min, or completely.

Finished! To store, keep in sealed container covered in simmering broth. Cut and fry, bake, or broil as you would normally.

Stay tuned for a recipe to use the seitan, I'm excited to use it!