Homemade Seitan Recipe

Seitan (also known as ‘wheat meat’) has been used as a ‘mock meat’ in Chinese cuisine for centuries and you can find it as ‘mock duck’ in most Chinese restaurants. It is quite easy to make although if you can find it in a supermarket or local health food store it can be a little expensive. Seitan is made from regular wheat flour, when the starch is washed off and what remains is the gluten, which is why it is very high in protein (weight for weight a similar amount to beef!) However due to the fact that it is made from gluten means that it is not suitable and best avoided by those with gluten intolerance or coeliac disease.

Having said this vital gluten flour which is not the cheapest ingredient but it does go a long way. The yield is quite large as the seitan dough absorbs liquid while cooking, so even though I have said there are 2 portions in this recipe, they are quite large and could easily be 3 good servings. By wrapping the seitan in a cheesecloth it comes out looking smooth and very nice, not to mention succulent and moist. You need to wrap in muslin or a cheese cloth and then tie it with some string on each side to seal. Liquid will still be absorbed through the cloth but that way it will keep it’s shape. Also cooking in a pressure cooker cuts t the cooking time in half. Always follow the cooker manufacturer’s guidelines.

Don’t throw away the liquid left over as it is super tasty and can be used to make soups, sauces, and even gravy if you’re using the seitan to make a roast dinner!

Homemade Seitan Recipe
Yield: 3 Servings
Difficulty: Medium
Cooking time:
Metric
US/Cups

Ingredients

For the seitan

  • 100 g gluten flour
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 200 ml vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tsp  yeast extract (Marmite)
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • ¼ tsp dried oregano

For the stock

  • 500 ml vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tsp yeast extract (Marmite)
  • 750 ml of water

For the seitan

  • 3½ oz gluten flour
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • ¾ cup vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tsp yeast extract (Marmite)
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • ¼ tsp dried oregano

For the stock

  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tsp yeast extract (Marmite)
  • 3 cups of water

Instructions

  1. Add the stock ingredients into a pressure cooker and place on a medium heat while you prepare the seitan.
  2. In a bowl add the gluten flour, nutritional yeast, oregano, garlic, and paprika and mix.
  3. In another bowl add the wet ingredients: stock, yeast extract, and oil and mix well.
  4. Begin to add the stock mix to the dry ingredients until you get a dough. It shouldn’t be too wet or too dry and should be easy to knead without being sticky. It should take about 200ml of stock but if more is needed then just add a little more water. If you have added too much liquid to the dough don’t worry as this can be easy removed by squeezing the dough and can be poured off.
  5. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes with your hands to activate the gluten.
  6. Form into a sausage shape and place into a muslin cloth or cheese cloth, and roll. The cloth should be nice and tight around the roll of seitan, and tie on the sides with some cooking string.
  7. Place in the pressure cooker and close the lid. Follow carefully the instructions of your pressure cooker, and cook on a medium-high heat for 30 minutes. If you are not using a pressure cooker then double the cooking time.
  8. Remove from the heat and once the cooker has cooled and is safe to open (follow your cooker’s instructions!) you can remove the seitan from the cloth and enjoy!

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