Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been discussed before. I've tried searching to find this, but haven't been able to.

Recently I picked up some vital wheat gluten to make some homemade veggie burgers (a most excellent recipe) and was contemplating trying my hand at homemade seitan.

The thing is, I've yet to meet a seitan whose texture I like. It seems like seitan is always trying to be meat and I became a vegetarian because I really don't like meat, especially it's texture. I love tempeh and find its texture to be very satisfying. I've had tempeh prepared in various degrees of cooked down from fresh to crispy and always like it. Seitan however tends to have a too chewy texture that turns me off.

So is there a homemade seitan recipe out there that isn't too meaty or springy?

Thanks.

Have you tried the steamed seitan recipes from Viva Vegan? They don't seem particularly meaty or springy to me.

I find that adding in a bit of mashed beans of choice, and steaming it leads to final product that is far less chewy.

I would try experimenting with steamed seitan as well as baked seitan cutlets. In general, I find homemade seitan less "meaty" in texture than store-bought.

Yeah, I think homemade seitan is a lot less chewy than storebought.

If you cut it into thin strips and panfry it with some spices and oil, it gets nice and crispy and a lot less chewy.

You could also grind the seitan into mince with your food processor, so you won't notice the texture as much. Great for spaghetti bolognaise etc.

Also, don't over kneed your seitan before cooking. The more you kneed it, the more the gluten is developed, which can make it chewier or springier.