after years of trying to figure out what i was doing "wrong" with my homemade seitan, i've done it. i've made my first batch on non-spongey seitan! i knew it had to be possible because i've been eating nice, firmly textured seitan in asian restaurants all along, but i could never get anyone to explain how they did it.
first, i stopped trying to mix and knead the vital gluten flour etc. with liquids by hand. i put it all into my electric breadmaker and let it do the work on the "dough" setting. i actually put it through the dough setting twice. i think the double kneadings and long resting times really helped. then, i did NOT cut the resultant lump into "steaks" or "cutlets" before simmering it. instead i wrapped the whole big blob up very tightly into a big swatch of cheesecloth and tied it up firmly with kitchen twine. i cooked it in a huge pot filled with veggie stock and spices overnight over low heat, just enough to maintain a very slow boil. when i took it out and cooled it slightly and then cut off a little slice to try, i was incredibly impressed with the texture. so excited i made everyone in my house try a piece even though it was only seven-thirty in the morning.
i am going to try doing all sorts of interesting things to this new technique, like adding ground nuts or cooked lentils into the bread machine to be kneaded into the gluten, different spices and maybe things like sundried tomatoes or olives. i'll try slices up the resultant "roasts" and pan-frying them, or breading them and baking them, or just serving thin slices on bread as sandwich fillings. i can now safely say that everyone in my home thinks i am truly the seitan goddess. hooray for kitchen witchery!
and we love you, and you already know i worship at the alter of your kitchen goddess-ness so you cannot leave.
and
2) Yay!!! Someone figured it out!!! I *think* i am getting a Kitchenaid for Christmas so if i do... Yay again!!!
Ruthie: many brands of commercial seitan are out there; all the "un" meats (unTurkey, Unsteak, Un-whtever) are wheat gluten. whitewave makes seitan in the same kind of pack as Chinese tofu and there are also others i can't think of right now.
oh, and whole foods carries a seitan stuffed roast that is to die for but i can't remember what brand it is. and it's expensive...
I am hormonal too...like major hormonal. It is weird how once a month I turn into this creature that sits in the corner and snarls at anyone that tries to steal my chocolate!
I am hormonal too...like major hormonal. It is weird how once a month I turn into this creature that sits in the corner and snarls at anyone that tries to steal my chocolate!
OT: i sure would like to know why, every time i post here lately, i get at least one person pulling a "snark" on me. it's why i haven't been around here much in the last while, and why i'm considering not hanging out here anymore. it's just so boring and tired.
I wasn't being snarky. You all seemed to like the idea of kneaded seitan so much I thought I would mention Bryanna's file because she has lots of different flavors ['ham', 'turkey', 'sausages', 'corned beef', etc] and I thought someone might be interested in checking it out and getting some recipes. Maybe I could have it worded it better ... I was in hurry when I typed it. I apologize if it might have come off wrong.
As for the person who so rudely said - well, she's been here for a year and only started posting recently - you have absolutely no idea about my life and maybe I happen to be busy and have other things going on ... I'm a single parent, I work, I go to university full-time, and for a long time, I didn't have a computer. Your comment was completely uncalled for.
I've never said anything intentionally snarky or been rude to anyone on here.
Then instead of saying "it's been around for awhile" which to me was like saying she snagged it, you might have said that there was another great resource for that style of seitan.
As for the person who so rudely said - well, she's been here for a year and only started posting recently - you have absolutely no idea about my life and maybe I happen to be busy and have other things going on ... I'm a single parent, I work, I go to university full-time, and for a long time, I didn't have a computer. Your comment was completely uncalled for.
I've never said anything intentionally snarky or been rude to anyone on here.
I was merely saying that even though you've joined, you haven't participated that much so it's possible that we aren't familiar with your writing style...hence the questions mark at the end of "so maybe she wasn't trying to be snarky?" I actually was defending you in a way. Sorry if it wasn't clearer.
Oops ... now that was my fault. I didn't go back to use the quote and only remembered the 'she joined a year ago' part. Definitely my fault and I'm cringing with embarrassment. I shouldn't post things until my house is settled for the night and I can be more careful!
Like I said above, I was in a hurry to get to class when I made the first post and I admitted that I might have worded it better. So once again, I apologize ... to everyone.
I'll blame my befuddleness on the fact that I am cramming for finals and my tired brain is in a fog right now.
And Mz Ruthie, seitan's taste/texture depends on the kind you buy.
"beef style" tends to be a bit spongy but still pretty chewy.
"chicken style" tends to be very firm and kind of like super-firm tofu. But not the frozen kind of tofu, because that gets spongy. It's not spongy it's just... like super-pressed tofu. Kind of like calamari, if you ever had that.
the taste completely depends on what you boil it in. You could boil it in asian stock & soy sauce for a more asian-y flavor. Or "chiken" broth for that chickeny taste. I used kreeli's recipe for beef style and it was great for use in goulasch and lasagne and stew. It kind of just had a chewy, salty brothy flavor.
Oh, and we used chicken style seitan for "chicken" fajitas. It was bloody perfect for those. Problem is, at nearly $4/tub, it was so expensive... so we don't buy it anymore.
I wasn't being snarky. You all seemed to like the idea of kneaded seitan so much I thought I would mention Bryanna's file because she has lots of different flavors ['ham', 'turkey', 'sausages', 'corned beef', etc] and I thought someone might be interested in checking it out and getting some recipes. Maybe I could have it worded it better ... I was in hurry when I typed it. I apologize if it might have come off wrong.
Thank you for clarifying, I really do appreciate it. I understand what it's like to be rushed and not neccessarily have time for more than "just the facts". I also admit to being a bit over-dramatic today.
Where can I access BCG's seitan file? I'd love to see it. She lives in the same province as me and I keep hoping to one day meet her in person.
The only seitan I've ever liked is the local Vietnamese restaurant's seitan. I'll have to try this. Would it work with the dough hook of a Kitchenaid mixer? They are so wonderful, aren't they? Come hell or high water, I'm getting one this Christmas, because they have a mint green one out right now, and I am NOT going to let mint green pass me by.
Tried it last night. I didn't do the second bread machine cycle because after one cycle it looked like it was kneaded as far as it could get. Then I plopped the whole blob in cheesecloth in a slow cooker for 4 hours.
I also used veggie broth rather than water for extra flavor.
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