You Thought This Was Chicken Didn't You?

Seitan, what exactly is it?  If you don’t know what this wheat gluten is and how you can incorporate it into your vegetarian diet, do not worry.  I have been walking the meatless path for the past 17 years and I just discovered the versatility and deliciousness of seitan a couple of years ago.  Seitan, also known as gluten or wheat meat, is a very universal form of meat substitute and was first cooked and perfected in Asian cuisines.  Asian cooks and chefs have mastered the art of creating diverse forms of seitan to be used as a meat substitute, (particularly “mock chicken” or “mock duck”) for just about any meal.  When you decide to give seitan a try (and give tofu a break) you can purchase seitan in strips, cubes, and shapes that resemble “meat products” at your local health food store.  For more options of different forms of seitan to cook with, I highly encourage you to visit a nearby Asian Supermarket.

Seitan is not only a great meat substitute (or even tofu substitute if you cook with it frequently), but it is also an excellent source of protein and fiber, all without the meat and you guessed it, fat.

And you know what else?

Seitan has even more protein per serving than tofu.  But the major difference between seitan’s and tofu’s protein elements is that seitan is not a perfect protein like tofu.  When eating and preparing seitan, you may want to compliment it with vegetables, legumes, or even dairy.  As seitan is a meatless form of protein, it does not contain any cholesterol or saturated fats and it is a source of Vitamin B and Iron.

Now that you have an idea of the origin and nutritional benefits of seitan, how do you prepare it?  What are some quick but delicious ways you can incorporate seitan in to your vegetarian or vegan diet?  I am going to share with a handful of cooking tips to ensure that you retain the healthy and nutritional state of seitan and 3 delicious ways to prepare a setian based meal for you and your family.  And who knows, these setian inspired methods just may impress a couple of your meat eating friends.

Seitan Cooking Tips:

As most packaged seitan is stored in a broth, which is usually high in sodium, try rinsing and soaking the seitan in water before cooking it (if you are not cooking it in its own broth).  Or make sure to minimize the amounts of salt you use when cooking with seitan.  If you are using the broth the seitan was packaged in, I would suggest not adding any salt to your dish at all.

To ensure that you reap the no cholesterol and saturated fats benefits of setian, refrain from deep frying seitan (I know this may be hard for some of you, I know it is for me).  When you deep fry setian, you will change the fat content of this protein.  One minute you have a low-fat food then once it hits the hot oil, you now have a fatty food.

3 Ways to Prepare Seitan – The Vegetarian Chicken:

Barbecue Seitan: Don’t settle for veggie burgers during the barbecue and cookout season.  Instead treat your vegetarian taste buds to a tasty batch of barbecue seitan.  Just marinate seitan in your favorite store bought or secret recipe homemade (yummy) sauce in the refrigerator overnight.  Next, heat up your propane or charcoal grill, place your barbecued seitan on the clean greased  grill (or use aluminum to make sure seitan doesn’t stick or fall through the grates of the grill) and grill on each side for 5 minutes or until charred grill marks are visible.  Instant presto (not really presto though)…you have a barbecued meatless meal that can compete with any BBQ chicken.  And you know what? If it is too cold to grill outside, just make baked barbecue seitan.  Place the marinated seitan in the oven, instead of the grill, and bake for 20 – 25 minutes on 350 degrees.

Setian Noodle Soup: When it’s cold outside, we all (herbivores and carnivores)  want “a little something – something” to warm up our insides and bones.  Instead of “chicken noodle soup” just make a huge pot of “seitan noodle soup.”  This soupy recipe may sound intimidating, but trust me it’s not.  In a large pot add some vegetable broth, egg noodles, elbow macaroni, or your favorite pasta, chopped celery, carrots, onions, frozen peas and boil for 5 minutes.  Next, you will want to add some chopped or cubed setian (your vegetarian chicken) to the soup along with some salt and pepper.  Reduce eat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes or until noodles are soft.

Ground Seitan: Why use ground chicken or ground beef when you can go meatless and use ground seitan instead.  Seitan is a good way to prepare a meatless dinner if you are just transiting to a vegetarian lifestyle or cooking for meat eaters.  Seitan has a similar texture to meat that helps non-vegetarians or new vegetarians adjust to consuming mock meat or meat substitutes.  To create a flavorful ground seitan to use in your next pot of vegetarian chili or vegetarian tacos, place seitan cubes, paprika, minced garlic, chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, cumin, onion powder, and turmeric in a food processor and pulse/chop until it resembles crumbles.  Next, heat a skillet and drizzle with some vegetable and add seasoned ground seitan to the skillet and brown.

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Until Next Time…
Happy, Healthy, Vegetarian Eatin’

Take Care,
EJ