Need To Know about Seitan Made With Vital Wheat Gluten

Need To Know about Seitan Made With Vital Wheat Gluten

Seitan is a food product obtained from gluten i.e. the protein part of the wheat. The other names for seitan include gluten, wheat meat, and wheat protein, etc. The name wheat meat is given to seitan because of its meat-like texture after being cooked. Thus, it is also considered to be a great meat alternative for vegetarian people. You can easily prepare it at your home or buy readymade seitan from the market as well. Seitan is famous around the world due to its meat-like texture and nutritional benefits.

Everything You Need To Know About Seitan

It is a meat-like food product that is commercially sold as a base for many vegetarian food products. The taste of seitan is mild and salty, just like that of bland chicken. Also, it is chewy and meaty, just like chicken. If you buy readymade seitan, it is generally available in the form of slices, pieces or ground form. Furthermore, seitan is highly nutritious as it’s loaded with healthy calories, protein, and minerals like selenium, calcium, copper, and iron, etc. Also, it is a great option for weight management as it contains low amounts of carbohydrates and fats.

Seitan preparation

Basically, seitan is a handmade product that can be prepared using two common ways. In the first method, it is prepared using whole wheat flour. It is considered to be the more complex method as it requires kneading the dough with water. This helps to create gummy fibers of gluten protein.  After that, the starch is rinsed away using cold water to obtain seitan. In the second method, seitan is prepared using vital wheat gluten i.e. the protein obtained from wheat. You can buy it easily from a grocery store near you in powdered form. The vital wheat gluten is one of the most essential ingredients to prepare seitan easily at home.

Seitan dishes

How Is Seitan Made With Vital Wheat Gluten?

Here are the steps to prepare a simple seitan dish using vital wheat gluten.

1. Firstly, you will need various ingredients like vital wheat gluten powder, soy flour, and soy flour. To add taste, you can use ginger powder, garlic powder, soy sauce, dry herbs, and other spices. For preparing the dough, you can use vegetables broth, water, and nutritional yeast.

2. After that, you need to mix the ingredients in a big bowl and stir them to form a consistent & sticky texture. Don’t use the complete vegetable broth, as it will be needed in the end.

3. Then, knead the mixture for a few minutes and leave it. Again after a few minutes, you have to knead the dough to obtain gluten from it.

4. Now you need to divide the dough into 3-4 thick chunks, just like slices of meat.

5. Take a big frying pan and add 4-5 cups of vegetable broth into it. Keep the pan on a gas stove and keep the flame low to avoid boiling the broth. Put the seitan chunks into the pan and add other ingredients for flavor. Some ingredients that you can use include spices, garlic powder, ginger paste, soy sauce, and salt, etc.

6. Cover the pan and leave it for an hour to allow seitan to expand & get cooked. When you check it after an hour, the seitan would have become stiff. You can then refrigerate it to store it for later use.

That’s all folks!

So this was everything you need to know about seitan made with vital wheat gluten. If you are a vegetarian, then you can prepare the vegan wheat meat at your home. Seitan protein not only will it give you the feel of meat but also the similar nutritional benefits. You can either use the given recipe to cook it or you can always experiment with your own recipes. For questions or suggestions, please write to us in the comments section below.