written by for Venus Rising Magazine
Aquarius 09 - The Change Issue Issue
Chinese Calligraphy by Philip GaligaThis time of year, our menus lean toward the comfort food zone. Unless you live in sunny California, the typical American family is currently dining on meat, potatoes, and a perfunctory vegetable. If you feel stuck in this rut, why not give wheat gluten (seitan) a try? Wheat gluten can be an amazing substitute for animal mainstays and is an easy, nutritious, and delicious way to introduce change to your carnivorous habits.
Wheat gluten, most frequently made into what we know as seitan, pronounced “say tan,” is often called “wheat meat” or “mock duck,” “mock beef,” “mock pork,” and so on…because of its ability to be transformed into a main ingredient that has remarkably similar characteristics to most meats depending on how it is handled and seasoned. The most recognized mock dish, Chinese mock duck, is made with wheat gluten. It is a staple in most Chinese restaurants. However, home cooks can find ready-made wheat gluten in blocks, chunks, or strips at health food stores and cooperatives. In its block or chunky form it is commonly packaged in sauce flavored with mushrooms or BBQ. In strips, it is ready to eat, much like beef jerky. It is also prevalent in Asian markets where it is sold in cans with rich Asian sauce or vegetable broth. Wheat gluten cooked with ginger, soy sauce, and Kombu (Japanese seaweed), is the traditional recipe for seitan.
Seitan is an ideal meat alternative because it is high in protein. To make it, wheat flour is washed with water to remove most of its soluble starch and what remains is the insoluble protein of the wheat, the gluten, a substance with trace fat, few carbohydrates, no cholesterol, and high protein. With 80% protein per serving, wheat gluten exceeds the amount of protein per serving found in most animal meats.
While this may be a revelation to some, it is not newfound knowledge. Chinese Buddhist monks, who had already been using soy as a meat substitute in their dedication to a vegetarian lifestyle, discovered the transformative and nutritional powers of wheat gluten and made it a mainstay in their diets a long time ago. Otherwise known as Buddha beef, as Buddhism spread so did the use of wheat gluten. When it reached Japan, it was used with local ingredients, including soy sauce and sea kelp. It is here that “seitan” was created. But the Japanese used seitan less as a meat substitute, and more as a star ingredient. Creating things like mock shrimp and mock eel was more of an art than a nutritional necessity. Seitan became popular in Western cultures when vegetarianism was the rage in the 60’s and 70’s. Hippies may have made seitan slightly more mainstream during this era, but Mormons had been using wheat meat since the turn of the century. And, when times were tough, as in the Great Depression, it was often used as a meat substitute in meat loaves.
At home, seitan preparation can be simple as ready-made ground beef substitute for use in tacos or spaghetti sauce, or prepared “beef” strips for stir fry or fajitas. Your mock dishes can also be as inventive as your imagination will allow. Sliced, boiled, and smothered in mushroom gravy it will make a delicious stroganoff. Or, give sculpture a whirl and shape your specially flavored “seitan” into a duck breast, a steak, or pork tenderloin. In any case, you’ll be feeding your body with something highly nutritional. Unlike tofu, seitan has a uniquely meat-like texture, and may just change the way you view alternative meat. 
Mock Stroganoff with Wheat Gluten
For the Wheat Gluten
Dry Ingredients:
2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1 tsp. dried tarragon
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
Wet Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup mushroom or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp. low-salt tamari sauce
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. olive oil
Broth:
4 cups broth of choice, (mushroom, vegetable, or beef)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 sprig of rosemary
Mix dry ingredients together. Whisk together wet ingredients and add to flour mixture. Mix thoroughly with a fork. When it is fully combined, form into a ball and knead until the dough becomes elastic, about 5 minutes. Let rest 2-3 minutes. Knead again about 10 times. Let rest again, 5-10 minutes.
Roughly shape dough into a 1 ½ to 2 inch log. Cut gluten into ½ inch slices. In a large pot, add the gluten pieces to the broth mixture and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the Stroganoff
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
Prepared wheat gluten, above
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 portabella mushroom, chopped fine
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp. red wine
3 Tbsp. of the remaining cooking broth from the wheat gluten, or broth of your choice
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. butter, optional
¼ cup sour cream or crème fraîche, optional
Salt and black pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and wheat gluten slices and sauté until onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms release their liquid. Add wine and combine. In a separate bowl, combine cooking broth with flour and blend well. Bring mushroom and wheat gluten mix to a simmer and gradually stir in flour and broth mixture. Simmer and stir until the stroganoff thickens. Add butter, if using, and mix well. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream or crème fraîche, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with egg noodles or fettuccine.
© 2008-2009 Venus Rising Magazine