Simple Simmered Seitan Recipe for Stir Frying
If you’re looking to add some protein and bulk to your stir fry, this simmered seitan recipe is perfect. It’s a beginner friendly seitan recipe, and only uses 6 ingredients. Plus, you can easily make it ahead of time and have it on hand when you get cooking. It’s savory, hearty, with a bit of chew, and is a great accompaniment to all sorts of vegetables and grains.
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What is Seitan?
Seitan, also sometimes called wheat meat, is a vegan meat alternative made from gluten, the protein in wheat. It is, as you might have guessed, just about as far as something can be from being gluten-free. Seitan has its roots in China, likely as far back as 500AD, where it was prepared by vegetarian Buddhist monks. The common narrative is that the monks proffered seitan to encourage others to abstain from meat, and to enjoy wheat-meat instead of killing animals. 1500 years later, and I seem to be doing the same thing.
Traditionally, seitan is made by combing flour and water, and after letting the gluten develop, scrubbing the dough in water to remove the starch, and leave the proteins behind. In the modern internet times, this method is often called referred to as the Wash The Flour method as some individuals find the acronym hilarious. The method I’m sharing in this recipe is using vital wheat gluten, a flour that has already had most of the starch removed, making it so you don’t need to scrub or wash your dough. There are many people who swear by one method or the other- you’ll just have to try both and decide which one is for you. If you’re looking to give the washed flour method a shot, or just looking for more seitan recipes, check out the seitan society. They’ve got it all!
What I find really great about seitan is how versatile it is. This recipe for simmered seitan is a great, basic recipe, but you can achieve all sorts of different flavors and textures with seitan. Things like cooking method, and adding different extra ingredients can make a huge impact- compare this recipe here to this other one for vegan fish fillets, and you’ll see what I mean!
Looking for Seitan Recipes? Try one of these!
- Tandoori Seitan Kabobs with Cucumber Yogurt Salad
- Stuffed Seitan Vegan Holiday Roast
- The Best Vegan Sausage Recipe: Seitan Sausage
- Vegan Meatballs (Beetballs) & Seitan and Beet Meatballs
- Simple Seitan Fajitas
- Vegan Fish Fillets: A Versatile Vegetarian Fish Alternative
- Tomato and Garlic Vegetarian Sandwich Meat
How to Make this Simmered Seitan Recipe
A little information on cooking seitan. There are three basic techniques for cooking seitan- steaming, baking, and simmering. I most often steam my seitan- it gives you a nice, not too firm, not too soft texture. However, without a wet enough dough to begin with, it can start to dry out. Baked seitan gives you a firmer consistency, with more of a crust. It’s not a technique I use a lot, but I do occasionally bring it out to make a roast. Simmering, the technique we use here, is another option I don’t use as frequently, but it has some real benefits. When you simmer seitan, it’s a great opportunity to give your seitan more flavor, by making a strong and flavorful broth. As the seitan cooks, the cooking liquid will impart more flavor into your seitan. The biggest downfall with simmered seitan happens when you accidentally let the seitan boil instead of simmer. At that point, you risk your seitan falling apart, or becoming spongy.
So to make this recipe, start by mixing all the ingredients together to make a dough. We used a little bit of chickpea flour, as well as vital wheat gluten to make the seitan a little firmer and less chewy. At this point your dough will be fairly elastic- give it a few kneads just to bring it all together nicely. You’ll want to leave it to rest for just a few minutes before cooking. We made a simple broth from water, soy sauce, and a little vinegar. When you shape the dough, keep in mind that it will swell and likely double in size as it cooks. Place the seitan in the liquid, and bring it to a very lazy simmer. And, the sort of tough part is, you’re going to have to keep it at that low simmer for an hour. Make sure you go back and check on it a few times, because if it’s not simmering, it’s not cooking as fast, and if it’s rapidly boiling, you’re making a wheat-meat sponge.
Once your seitan is cooked, I like to store it in the cooking broth to give it even more time to absorb those flavors. Add this seitan to recipes in place of meat- it is particularly fantastic when added to stir fries, fajitas, and more!
Simple Simmered Seitan Recipe for Stir Frying
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup (30g.) chickpea flour
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Combine the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, garlic powder, and smoked paprika in a mixing bowl, and whisk well to remove any clumps. Add water gradually (in total about 2/3 of a cup, or 160ml), using a spoon or your hands to combine, until all the flour is incorporated into a dough. Remove the dough from the bowl, and kneed it about 10 times, until it’s fairly even. Return to the bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
- Once rested, make the dough into a round disk around 2 inches thick or a little thinner. Add the soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and 3 cups of water to a medium-sized saucepan, and place the seitan inside. Bring the water up to a gentle simmer, and set to simmer for one hour. Don’t let the broth boil, just keep it at a gentle simmer. At some point, about half way through the cook time, make sure to flip your seitan.
- After one hour, turn off the heat and let the seitan and broth cool down. Store the seitan in a contain with the simmering broth in the fridge until use.
Notes
Notes: This seitan is perfect for cutting into smaller pieces and stir frying, as without additional cooking, and in larger pieces, it is a little tough and chewy.
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