From: Mike_Eisele@mindlink.bc.ca (Mike Eisele)
Subject: Re: REQUEST: seitan recipe
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 18:17:17 GMT

> Tatsuhiro Ikeda writes:
>
> Msg-ID: <cfHUoH200WB=Ibl1ge@andrew.cmu.edu>
> Posted: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 18:24:03
>
> Org.  : Sponsored account, Graduate School Of Industrial Administr.,
> Carnegie Mellon, Pi
>
> Hi,
>
>     Anyone out there have a recipe for seitan?  Anyone know what it is?
> Basically, I think you make it by boiling whole wheat, but I don't know
> any further than that.  Please direct responses to this account, as well
> as this board.  Thank You!!!!
>
> Tatsu Ikeda
> ti08+@andrew.cmu.edu
>
>

Here is a recipe you might want to try. The recipe pretty well explains what
Seitan is.

SEITAN --- METHOD 1 ( From Friendly Foods by Brother Ron Pickarski O.F.M.)

Yield: 14 ounces uncooked; 16 ounces cooked

Time: 1 hour preparation; 2 hours cooking

Ingredients:

6 cups stone-ground whole wheat flour or high gluten unbleached white flour
3 cups water ( or more, depending on the amount of gluten in the flour )
1/2 cup tamari
12 slices fresh ginger, each 1/8 inch thick
1 piece kombu, about 3 inches long

Instructions:

1.Mix the flour and water by hand or in a machine to make a medium-stiff but
not sticky dough
2.Knead the dough by hand on a breadboard or tabletop, until it has the
consistency of an earlobe, or by machine until the dough forms a ball that
follows the path of the hook around the bowl. You may need to add a little
water or flour to achieve the desired consistency. Kneading will take about
10 to 12 minutes by hand or about 6 to 8 minutes by machine.
3.Allow the dough to rest in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes.
        While the dough is resting, prepare the stock. In a large pot, bring
to boil 3 quarts of water. Add the tamari, ginger, and kombu, and cook for 15
minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. This stock must be cold before
it is used. (The cold liquid causes the gluten to contract and prevents the
Seitan from acquiring a bready texture. ) You will be using this stock to
cook the Seitan later.
4.To wash out the starch, use warm water to begin with. Warm water loosens
the dough and makes the task easier. Knead the dough, immersed in water, in
the bowl.
5.When the water turns milky, drain it off and refill the bowl with fresh
water. In the final rinses, use cold water to tighten the gluten. If you
wish, save the bran by straining the water through a fine sieve; the bran
will be left behind. Save the starch by allowing the milky water to settle in
the bottom of the bowl; slowly pour off the water and collect the starch,
which you can use for thickening soups, sauces, and stews.
6.When kneading, remember to work toward the centre of the dough so that it
does not break into pieces.
7.After about 8 changes of water, you will feel the dough become firmer and
more elastic. The water will no longer become cloudy as you knead it.
8.To make sure you have kneaded and rinsed it enough, lift the dough out of
the water and squeeze it. The liquid oozing out should be clear, not milky.

To shape the Seitan, lightly oil a 1-pound loaf pan. Place the Seitan in the
pan and let it rest until the dough relaxes. (After the dough has been rinsed
for the last time in cold water, the gluten will have tightened and the dough
will be tense, tough, and resistant to taking any other shape.) After it has
rested for 10 minutes, it will be much more flexible.

        Seitan is cooked in two steps. In the first step, the dough is put
into a large pot with about 3 quarts of plain, boiling water. Boil the Seitan
for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until it floats to the surface. Drain the
Seitan and cut it into usable pieces (steaks, cutlets, 1-inch chunks or
whatever) or leave whole. Return the Seitan to the cold tamari stock. Bring
the stock to a boil, lower the temperature, and simmer in the stock for 1 1/2
to 2 hours (45 minutes if the Seitan is cut into small pieces). This second
step may also be done in a pressure cooker, in which case it would take
between 30 and 45 minutes.

        To store Seitan, keep it refrigerated, immersed in the tamari stock.
Seitan will keep indefinitely if it is brought to a boil in the tamari stock
and boiled for 10 minutes twice a week. Otherwise, use it within 8 or 9 days.

VARIATIONS

Instead of boiling the Seitan in plain water and then stock, let the Seitan
drain for a while after it has been rinsed. Slice it and either deep-fry or
sauti the slices until both sides are brown. Then cook it in the tamari stock
according to the recipe.

Seitan also may be cooked (at the second step) in a broth flavoured with
carrots, onion, celery, garlic, tamari, and black pepper, which will give it
a flavour similar to that of pot roast. Shiitake mushrooms may also be added
to the stock.


If this seems to complicated (apparently it isn't), then you might want to
consider checking out your local health food store for a Seitan mix by
Arrowhead Mills. This mix is apparently available throughout the United
States and Canada.

I hope this is what you were looking for.


...Mike