The Ultimate Guide to Seitan

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten ~120g
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour ~30g, or soy flour
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 – 1 cup water

• 6 cups broth of choice, eg: vegetable
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 carrot roughly chopped
• 1 stalk celery roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup soy sauce

• In a large bowl, stir together the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt.
  
• Add the water or vegetable broth and stir into a dough. Turn out onto a work surface and knead for 5-10 minutes. The more you knead, the more meat-y your seitan will be. If you’re looking for seitan that can shred, knead longer. If you want more tender seitan, knead for less time. Cover and let the seitan rest for 5 minutes.
  
• While the seitan is resting, bring the vegetable broth, onion, carrot, celery, and soy sauce up to a boil in a very large pot then turn the heat down to the lowest it will go, so that it’s barely simmering.
  

• Cut the dough into at least 4 large pieces and shape. You can also cut or pull the dough into small strips or chunks.

  Optional: Shape and wrap the seitan in foil before simmering. This will give you a more dense, meaty texture because the seitan won’t have as much room to expand.

  
• Add the seitan to the barely simmering broth and cook, uncovered for 1 hour, making sure it doesn’t come to a boil.
  
• When the hour is up, remove from the heat and let cool. Use immediately or store in the broth for future use. Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze.
  

Note: some of the photos feature sweet and sour seitan. To make:

1 lb seitan, torn into small pieces
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 bell pepper cubed
1/2 red onion cubed

Toss the seitan with 1 tbsp cornstarch to coat evenly.

Heat up a bit of oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the seitan until golden and crisp over medium high heat. Remove from the pan and let rest on a wire rack.

Make the sweet and sour sauce: whisk together the remaining 1 tbsp cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Whisk in the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and soy sauce.

Add the sauce to the pan and bring it to a boil. Once bubbling, turn the heat to low and add the vegetables. Cook until your desired doneness then remove from the heat (we keep the vegetables almost raw).

Add the cooked seitan to the sauce and toss until well coated. Enjoy!