What is seitan?
Seitan is wheat gluten, spiced and simmered.Gluten is the protein found in wheat which, when mixed with water, forms into long stretchy strings that give bread its structure. When you develop those strands, rinse off the starch, and cook the gluten bits, you get seitan.
How to Make Seitan?
After googling and you tubing I thought I would have a go. The main ingredient is flour, now I thought that wholemeal flour would have more gluten then white flour, but actually it doesn’t make a different. You can add tamari and spices of your choice to flavor the seitan.
I used 500g of wholemeal flour
I added spices ( Cayenne pepper, garlic powder, mixed herbs, paprika, pepper and salt) and 1 tbsp of Tamari ( Soy Sauce).
In the mixer using the dough hook, I slowly added water until a dough formed.
Continued to knead on medium speed for about 5 minutes.
Cover with cold water, and allow to soak for about 2-3 hours.
Now comes the arm exercise! Knead the dough in the water,until the water runs clear while kneading. This process can take a while (10-20mins).
The dough will reduce in size to about half maybe even a little smaller, with a sponge & stringy like texture.
Keep kneading until the water is clear around the dough.
In a large pot, add 2 stock cubes and any herbs and spices you like ( I added the same spices as above) and bring the boil.
Take the dough out of the water, and cut into small chunks or size and type of “fake” meat you want.
These little guys will grow in the pot, so make sure the pieces aren’t to big. I would recommend bite size chunks.
Add the to the simmering pot of stock, and cook for about 45mins-1 hour.
The seitan with grow and become more sponge like.
Drain the seitan and you can use the stock for soup another day.
By the time I made the Seitan, it was late, so I put them into a container and placed in the fridge once cooled.
I sautéed the seitan in a pan to cook, however you can bake or fry also.
I added the seitan to sautéed vegetables with some soy sauce and Nandos garlic sauce and i must say, it was excellent! Has a slightly spongy texture, but was yummy. Great lean protein source and extremely low in calories. For a 150g portion its 160Cals with 34g protein, 1.5g fat, 5.3g Carbs and 1.8g of fiber (4 Weight Watchers Pro Points) . A 150g was a big portion, I just managed to finished it – and my husband helped me too.
I will definitely be making this again soon. However as it’s a timely process, I will bulk make seitan and freezing portions for weekly use.
According the internet, Seitan will keep in the fridge for about 5 days and you can freeze once cooked in stock.
