Meat of wheat

Seitan, Seitan, Seitan...
my meat of wheat :)

Over here at the homestead, we eat meat sparingly (3 chickens a year, a few packs of bacon, salmon, etc.)
We do, however, make and eat seitan quite often.

It's easy to make, and the main ingredients (wheat gluten and nutritional yeast flakes) are, in my opinion, essential to every food storage plan.

I modified the recipe from Post Punk Kitchen...

dry:
1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
wet:
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 or 3 garlic cloves
simmering broth:
cold water
1/2 cup soy sauce
red pepper flakes
bay leaves

Add wet to dry in a large glass bowl. Quickly mix with a wooden spoon until incorporated, wet, and sticking together. Add a few spoonfuls more wheat gluten if necessary.

Knead with palm of hand for 8 min or so until quite elastic.
Shape into a log about 4-5 inches wide and 8 inches long.

Let sit for 10 min.
Fill a large pot with enough cold water to cover the seitan. Add soy sauce, pepper flakes, and bay leaves.
Cut seitan log into 3 pieces. Place these three short cylindars into pot of water.
Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 1 hour. Use wooden spoon to turn the pieces every 15 min or so.

Seitan may puff and change shape as it cooks. After 1 hour, remove from heat and let cool. I store these seitan pieces in their simmering broth in a glass tupperware type container.


To cook, thinly slice a piece of seitan, or cube it for a different feel, and saute in a little oil in a pan.

I like them crispy.
I add this seitan to all kinds of dishes - most often to "seitan salad," a big salad with beans and rice, cooked seitan, and nutritional yeast dressing.
Mmmm, YUM!

Nutritional Yeast Dressing:
(I am estimating amounts by volume)
1/3 parts vinegar, I mix apple cider vinegar and any other kinds, too.
1/3 part oil, I mix olive oil and vegetable oil
1/3 part nutritional yeast flakes

2 spoonfuls of yogurt or sour cream
pinch of:
red pepper flakes
dried basil
dried oregano

And that's it!
Shake it up and store in fridge.
Sometimes I add a little water as well.