Seitan and Broccoli Bowls

I received The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions for Christmas--a book that I recommend you all check out!  More than just a cookbook, it's a how-to guide for working without dairy, eggs, meat, and animal by-products. Plus, it labels recipes as gluten-free, soy-free, etc.

We decided to try out the book's recipe for "Beef" and Broccoli Bowls, or, as my version is called, Seitan and Broccoli Bowls.  I made a few adjustments to the original recipe, as detailed below.

Seitan and Broccoli Bowl topped with Sesame Seeds and Scallions

Recipe:
Seitan and Broccoli Bowls

• brown rice (enough for 6 servings)
• 6 cups frozen (or fresh) broccoli florets 
• a heaping 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup white wine (or vegetable broth)
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1.5 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 24 ounces chopped seitan
• 3 scallions, chopped
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

First, begin preparing the rice according to the package instructions.  When about 15-20 minutes remain in the cooking time, set the broccoli to steam.  As the broccoli and rice are cooking, move on to prepare the sauce.

To make the sauce, whisk together the agave, soy sauce, wine, oil, corn starch, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  When the sauce begins to boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the sauce thickens a bit.  Then, add the seitan to the sauce and continue cooking until heated through.

Finally, layer the rice, broccoli, and saucy seitan in a bowl, top with scallions and sesame seeds, and serve.

Yields 6 servings. 

Comments:

Taste:            

This flavorful, umami-filled dish is sweet, spicy, and satisfying.  The seitan, broccoli, and rice come together into a nice, substantive, healthy bite.  

Accessibility:            

While you can make seitan from scratch, we ventured to Whole Foods to buy prepared seitan (sold in the refrigerated section, often near the produce); it's not sold at other nearby grocery stores.  Don't let the agave nectar scare you--we had no trouble finding it at our regular grocery store, in the syrup/honey aisle.  Also, we found a small (single/double serving?) box of wine at the grocery store, meaning we didn't need to buy a whole bottle just for this recipe.

 Ease of Preparation:       

While there are several things going on at once in this recipe, they are all pretty low-maintenance and easy to do.  Using "instant" brown rice can speed things up.

Non-vegan friendliness:            

I'm intentionally calling this recipe Seitan and Broccoli Bowls, rather than "Beef" and Broccoli Bowls: seitan isn't the same as beef, so there's no need to force a comparison between them.  This healthy, tasty dish is satisfying on its own. 

Sesame Seitan

Nothing says "It's the weekend" like Chinese take-out, right?  Almost.  This weekend we made our own, vegan version of a take-out classic--sesame chicken--with pretty great results. 

Why order out when you can make Sesame Seitan right in your kitchen?

Recipe:     
Sesame Seitan

• 2 - 8 ounce packages pre-made seitan (or you can make your own), drained and cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1/2 cup + 1 cup flour (separated)
• 2 cup ice water (you might not use it all, but have it on hand)
• enough vegetable or peanut oil for frying
• 1 yellow squash, chopped matchstick size
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh, minced ginger
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1.5 cups frozen broccoli
• 1 cup frozen snap peas
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey or another liquid sweetener
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• sesame seeds, toasted (to garnish) 

 

First, combine the seitan and 1/2 cup flour in a plastic bag and shake until the seitan is coated.  Set aside.

Next, prepare the batter.  Put 1 cup flour in a small bowl and slowly whisk in the ice water, using just enough water to create a smooth, somewhat sticky batter.

Now you're ready to batter and fry the seitan.  First, right next to the stove, set out a plate covered with paper towels (this is where you will place the seitan once it has cooked).  Pour oil 1/2" deep into a large skillet and heat on high until the oil is hot.  Then dip some floured seitan into the batter and immediately, with care (hot oil will burn you if it splatters!), place the battered seitan into the oil to fry.  Do this with as much seitan as can comfortably fit in the skillet at once.  You'll need to turn over the seitan halfway through cooking, using tongs.  Once the seitan looks crispy, remove it from the skillet using tongs and place it on the paper towel plate to absorb excess oil while you repeat these steps with the remainder of the seitan.  Allow the cooked seitan to rest on the plate and set aside.

Then cook the vegetables.  Take about 1.5 tablespoons oil from the seitan skillet and pour it into another large skillet or saucepan.  Heat the oil on medium-high and add all of the vegetables.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil using a fork.  Add the sauce to the vegetables, stir, and then add the seitan and stir.  Cook until everything is heated through. 

 

Serve with brown rice and garnish with sesame seeds.  Yields 6 - 8 servings. 

Comments:

Taste:         

The breaded seitan is a little bit chewy and a little bit crispy, overall tasting shockingly similar to a dish you might find in a Chinese restaurant.  Beyond the sweet and savory sauce and the crunch that the vegetables add to the dish, my favorite part is the seitan's substantive mouthfeel.  You can really take a bite out of this dish, and each bite taken is incredibly satisfying.   

Accessibility: 

Unfortunately, a few of these ingredients are hard to find.  We buy seitan in large quantities at Whole Foods and store it in the freezer since we can't find it at our local grocery store.  Sesame oil is expensive, but you can buy it in little bottles (and there are numerous other recipes on this blog that call for it!).   

 Ease of Preparation:       

This was a fairly complicated dish to make, and we made quite a mess in the kitchen in the process.  Batter-splatter was everywhere.  But, I've tried to spell out the procedure as clearly as possible in the directions, above, so that everyone else can benefit from our first try.  

Non-vegan friendliness:      

I look forward to making this for non-vegan friends and family! 

Spinach Vermicelli with Scallions and Seitan

Simon's mom was nice enough to bring us spinach vermicelli back from her trip to Canada.  (It came from an expansive Asian specialty grocery store, I am told.)  I hadn't ever made vermicelli before--or any other green-colored noodle, for that matter--so it was fun to give it a try. 

The spinach vermicelli started out light green, but unfortunately lost its color during cooking.

Recipe:   
Spinach Vermicelli with Scallions and Seitan

• 1 - 250g (8.8 ounce) package dried spinach-flavored rice vermicelli
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 or 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 - 8 ounce packages seitan (or homemade seitan), cut into small pieces
• 1 small piece ginger, minced
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped

First, cook the vermicelli according to package instructions (I cooked the noodles for 2.5 minutes) and drain.  Set aside.

 

Next, prepare the sauce.  In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, sugar, and pepper.  Set aside. 

Then, heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions, seitan, and ginger and sauté, stirring every 2 minutes, until the seitan and onions begin to brown.  Add half of the sauce and then add the vermicelli and scallions (reserving a few scallions for garnish).  Add the rest of the sauce, stir the noodles until everything is combined and heated through.

Garnish with scallions and serve hot.  Serves 4-6 people. 

Comments:

Taste:         

The rice vermicelli has a pretty unique texture.  It is both light and very thin, which Rachel enjoyed as a nice change from wheat pasta; for some context, Simon compared it to spaghetti squash.  The spinach flavor was pretty undetectable and the green color was overpowered by the brown sauce, but the dish as a whole had a pleasantly fragrant and gingery flavor.      

Accessibility:  

I'm not sure how easy it is to find rice vermicelli noodles at a standard American grocery store, given that these came from a Canadian specialty store.  Seitan can be difficult to find at big box grocery stores, as well.  To work around this, you can either stock up on vital wheat gluten and make your own, or stock up on pre-made seitan and freeze it.

 Ease of Preparation:     

This dish was pretty quick--especially compared to a dish that uses wheat noodles, which require longer to cook.  There's not much chopping involved here, either.   

Non-vegan friendliness:      

This makes a great summertime Asian dish and would make a great meal served with some steamed vegetables on the side.  The best part about it is that neither the sauce nor the noodles are heavy, like so many saucy noodle dishes can be. 

Seitan Jambalaya

I'm back from a great trip to New Orleans and I'm ready to cook up some flavorful Cajun favorites.  First up: Seitan Jambalaya.  Jambalaya is usually made with meat and/or seafood, as far as I can tell, but this vegan version is a great alternative.

Jambalaya garnished with parsley

Recipe:  
Seitan Jambalaya

• 6 tablespoons olive oil (divided into 2 tablespoons and 4 tablespoons)
• 16 ounces seitan strips, pulled apart or cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups long-grain brown rice
• 1 - 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 - 15 ounce can cannellini beans
• 1 - 15 ounce can light red kidney beans
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and have ready a large, deep casserole dish or 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Next, brown the seitan.  In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the seitan and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.  (It's okay if the seitan sticks to the bottom of the pot--the pan will be deglazed later. on in the recipe.)  Remove the seitan from the pot and set aside.  

Add the remaining oil to the pot and stir in the vegetables.  Sauté for about 12 minutes until the vegetables become very soft.  Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, for another 4 minutes.  Then, add the water, cook for 30 seconds stirring frequently, and add the rice.  Stir the rice for about 4 minutes.  Next, add the browned seitan and all of the remaining ingredients except the vegetable broth and parsley.  Bring to a simmer, pour in the vegetable broth, and return to a simmer.  

Finally, pour the mixture into your baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil or the dish's lid, and bake for 40-45 minutes.  Once you remove the dish from the oven, stir the jambalaya and recover the dish, allowing it to sit for about 10 minutes.  Garnish with parsley and serve hot. 

Yields 6 or 7 servings.

Comments:

Taste:       

I've made this aromatic dish a few times before and it always tastes great.  The herbs have plenty of time to build a complex flavor as the jambalaya bakes.  We mistakenly added a bit too much rice this time, meaning we had a difficult time getting the rice to cook all the way, but the dish ultimately comes out as a thick, protein-rich, and delicious one-pot meal.   

Accessibility:     

Unfortunately, this recipe doesn't yield the most accessible dish in this blog.  Seitan is hard to find at many grocery stores (we had to go to Whole Foods to get it).  Luckily, seitan freezes well, meaning you could stock up on it; or, you can always make your own.  Also, though this recipe does call for many spices, it's not the end of the world if you don't have all of them.     

 Ease of Preparation:   

This dish isn't particularly difficult to make.  However, it does take a long time to prepare, given the fact that you cook it first and then bake it.

Non-vegan friendliness:    

If you're cooking for someone who doesn't like seitan or is generally suspicious of meat alternatives, this could be a great dish to serve.  The seitan is mixed in with all of the other, more recognizable ingredients and adds more protein than anything else.  

BBQ Seitan Sandwiches

Tonight's dinner certainly wasn't the healthiest one we've made so far: Simon and I made saucy BBQ Seitan Sandwiches served alongside ready-to-bake french fries and ketchup.  But hey, seitan slathered in BBQ sauce on a bun is still much lower in fat than steak slathered in BBQ sauce on a bun.  Plus, BBQ sauce is delicious and my rejection of meat cannot be confused with a rejection of the sauces traditionally associated with meat.      

Simmering BBQ Seitan

Here's the recipe for the sandwich filling.


Recipe:
BBQ Seitan Sandwiches

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 - 8 ounce packages of seitan strips (or homemade seitan if you have enough time to make it)
• about 10 ounces of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 4-6 rolls

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and pepper strips and sauté for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Then, add the seitan strips and BBQ sauce and stir.  Lower the heat and simmer until heated through--about 5 minutes. 

Top rolls with the sandwich filling and enjoy!  Serve with french fries if you've moved on from your new year's resolution.  Yields 4-6 servings.

Comments:

Taste:      

Seitan is my favorite meat substitute.  It has a satisfying mouthfeel and a firm texture that makes a great sandwich filling. The BBQ sauce is the dominant flavor in these sandwiches, though the bell peppers add freshness to each bite.   

Accessibility:      

Unfortunately, seitan is absent from most grocery stores.  We had to go to Whole Foods to buy ours.  It's not much easier to make seitan since wheat gluten--the main ingredient--is also difficult to find.  Luckily, seitan does freeze well so you can stock up when you have the chance.    

Ease of Preparation:   

Once you have the ingredients on hand, this recipe is extremely easy and fast to make.         

Non-vegan friendliness:   

Rachel and Simon agree that this dish isn't especially non-vegan friendly.  This was Rachel's first time having BBQ Seitan Sandwiches and she was ultimately disappointed.  As she put it, "the seitan looks too real so I was disappointed" when it wasn't really steak.  "It's so visually appealing" but it didn't meet her expectations.  Simon recommends slicing the seitan into thin strips to better replicate steak sandwiches.