How to Make Seitan (Beef Flavor) Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

How do you add flavor to seitan? ›

Seasoning - I use dark soy sauce, ketchup, vegan Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, oil, and liquid smoke. Vital wheat gluten flour - I like to use vital wheat gluten flour from Bob's Red Mill.

Knead the Dough

Just like with bread making, we need to knead the dough a bit, to develop strands of gluten that give seitan a meaty texture. About 5 minutes of kneading is sufficient. Let it sit for about 5 minutes after that.

Seitan is a plant-based meat substitute made from wheat gluten that mimics the flavor and texture of chicken. You can buy it in many health food supermarkets, or you can make it yourself. It's typically made out of vital wheat gluten, an ingredient that has a similar texture to flour but is mostly, well, gluten.

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.

“Seitan can absorb just about any flavor.” Before you can start making seitan the cornerstone of tasty dishes, of course, you need a supply of the main ingredient.

Marinating is key to a delicious tofu or seitan dish.

Baking soda by some miracle seems to work wonders when combating the gluten taste. You don't need very much, either. Typically about 1/4 teaspoon per cup of VWG should do the trick. Whisk it right into your dry mix, and because it is such a small amount, it won't do anything to offset your wet/dry ratio.

Because of its meaty texture, seitan can be used in a variety of dishes, from sandwiches and stir-fries to stews and soups. The best part is that making seitan at home is easy, and it's much cheaper than buying pre-made or store-bought seitan.

Boiling seitan makes it have a brainy spongey texture, frying seitan (without first steaming it) makes it rubbery and spongey, baking it makes it dry and rubbery. Steaming seitan, on the other hand, will yield the perfect meaty, juicy, chewy, yet tender seitan every single time.

While seitan is a versatile plant-based protein, people with celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or gluten allergy should avoid it. Premade seitan can also be high in sodium, so it's important to read the nutrition label if you monitor your sodium intake.

What are the disadvantages of seitan? ›

The answer is, yes! —as long it's part of a well-rounded diet. A 100g serving of seitan has about 141 calories and 25 grams of protein, making it comparable to the amount of protein in chicken or beef. Because the starches are removed from the wheat when seitan is made, it has very little fat and carbs.

The most common issue people encounter is under seasoning their seitan. This is because seitan on its own has a mild flavor and needs the infusion of herbs, spices and other flavoring agents such as soy sauce to make it palatable.

Made with Gluten

If you have a sensitivity to gluten, eating foods like seitan can result in many adverse side effects such as bloating, diarrhea, fatigue and abdominal pain.

Wheat gluten proteins are deficient in lysine (an essential amino acid for good health), adding a lysine-rich food like chickpea flour to the mix makes up for this deficiency. When preparing seitan, it's important to flavor both the inside and outside of the dough.

To heighten their flavour, enthusiastic seasoning may occur with salt or sugar, salty soy or other well-seasoned sauces, or perhaps cheese alternatives are added.

Is Seitan Healthy? In many ways, yes, seitan is quite a healthy option. The seitan nutrition facts are hard to argue with: notable amounts of protein, iron, calcium, selenium, phosphorus, and B vitamins. This combination of macro- and micronutrients can result in some pretty impressive health benefits.

What Does Seitan Taste Like? In all transparency, plain seitan is pretty bland. Made from wheat gluten and water, its neutral taste makes it easy to add to nearly any dish. While seitan may start bland, it's a versatile ingredient that absorbs sauces and spices quite well.