Composed of wheat gluten, seitan is a pillar of vegetarian cuisine. It’s rich in protein, has a firm and porous texture (great for flavour absorption!) and often goes by the nickname “wheat meat.” Here’s everything you need to know about this meat substitute.
How It’s Made
Also known as wheat gluten, gluten flour is the main ingredient in seitan. It’s rich in protein and is obtained by removing the starch and bran from the wheat flour, conserving only the main protein: gluten. Given its composition, it goes without saying that seitan isn’t recommended for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
Rinse in Water
The traditional method consists of extracting the starch and bran from the wheat flour by mixing it with water to form a dough, which is kneaded and then rinsed many times until all that’s left is an elastic mass of gluten with a beige colour.
Cooking the Dough
Mass-produced seitan is made following standardized procedures, but you can also make it at home by shaping the gluten dough into logs or balls and seasoning them with spices, soy sauce, miso, nutritional yeast, etc. You can then cook the seitan in one of two different ways, either steamed or poached in a flavoured broth. In both instances, cooking time is between 45 and 60 minutes.
How to Cook Seitan
Sauté
Browning pieces of seitan in oil gives them a crisp texture on the outside, a nice contrast to the soft inside. What’s more, given its capacity to absorb flavour, seitan is also great when simmered in flavourful, creamy sauces.
Did You Know?
One 100 g serving of seitan provides between 22 and 25 g of protein, just as much as fish, and a bit less than beef (28 g) and chicken (30 g). Comparatively, you’ll get 12 to 15 g from tofu.
Ready to Eat
Blocks of seitan, either plain or seasoned, are sold in vacuum-sealed packaging and can be used in recipes that require a marinade or for grilling. You can also buy it sliced or in strips, perfect for a wide variety of marinade flavours such as barbecue, tamari or even teriyaki. There are also seitan patties, steaks and sausages available to round out the selection of ready-to-eat offerings.
Meat Replacement
Thanks to its firm texture that’s similar to meat, seitan is perfect for when you want to turn a classic meat dish into a tasty vegetarian version. You can enjoy it in a burger, stew, “meat” pie, taco, as nuggets or “ribs,” and in a large number of other recipes.
Use it as an alternative to chicken in this club sandwich recipe.