After much experimenting, I finally have a recipe for how to make seitan strips or seitan chunks. This is a pretty basic base recipe – as I like to marinate my seitan strips or fry them in spices in a pan before adding them to a stew or similar. So the recipe itself does not call for that many ingredients, not compared to my spicy seitan sausages. But you can add more to the actual liquid if you want to add more flavour.
The most complicated step in this is probably the glazing of the onions :)
Note that the flour is stated as 3,5-4,5 dl (or more) – depending on the fluid – if you add more dry spices to your bullion – then the powder will take on water, therefore it’s very important that you add half of the amount of the flour first, then add 0,5 dl each time, blend then continue until you have a not to wet and not to dry dough – that is both firm and fluffy. (See the pictures as it sounds like a total contradiction – I know!)
I usually prepare portions and freeze them, then keep some in the fridge (they last a week or so) with a marinade.
Ingredients
- 4 dl bullion
- 3,5 – 4,5 seitan flour
- For glazing the onions;
- 2 pc medium-sized onions
- 2 pcs garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- oil to fry in
- For cooking the seitan strips;
- 3 bay leafs
- salt
- Add additional dried or fresh spices if you want
Directions
- Make the bullion – and let cool off.
- Glaze the onions by adding soy sauce, garlic, sage, maple syrup and oil to a pan. Let it heat up and add sliced onions.
- Reduce the heat to half. Add the rest of the spices, stir and let the onions cook until they become semi-translucent on low heat. Let cool off for a bit.
- Mix bullion and glazed onions to a fluid, and use the oil from the pan as well as the oil to carry flavour.
- Add the fluid to a bowl – add half of the seitan flour to the fluid and stir until you have a mince-looking substance in the bowl. Then add 1 dl of flour and stir until it’s dissolved. Continue to add 0.5 dl or 1 dl of flour at a time to work into a dough. Start with 1 dl, then 0,5 dl then work your way down to a tablespoon.
- It’s important that the dough is not too wet nor too dry. Once you have a  fluffy yet firm dough – take it out from the bowl, work it with your hands and add in any additional seitan flour by hand to ensure your dough is just right.
- Cut the dough in half and put the other half back in the bowl again.
- Place the other piece of dough on a chopping board. Cut strips or chunks.
- Prepare a large pot with hot water.
- Once you created all your strips or chunks, place them in a large pot with hot water, salt and bay leaves. Add any additional spices to the water if you want to.
- You add the strips or chunks to the pot with hot water in it. I do it strip by strip.
- Once you placed all your strips or chunks in the water, then place it on the stove, on low heat with a lid and let the seitan gently simmer for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of your strips/chunks).
- You will know that the seitan strips are ready once they start to float.
- Then pour out the fluid from the pot, and place the strips on parchment paper to cool off.
- Then you can either freeze them or store them in the fridge.
