Seitan (we pronounce it SA-TAN for fun) and Vegan Yum Yum Seitan and Brocollini with Clementine Teriyaki

I had never ever heard the word seitan before. My friend Ty sent me the recipe, when I mentioned I was on a quest to make mock chicken. This recipe is beyond amazing and the possibilities are endless. We are going to use seitan and tofu to replace chicken in many of our vegan meals.

Here are some fun facts about Seitan:

From http://www,essortment.com:
Seitan (say-TAHN) is made from gluten. Seitan is a low fat, high protein, firm-textured meat substitute. It has been eaten in China, Japan, Korea, Russia and the Middle East for thousands of years. It is a food rich in tradition as well as nutrition.

As a protein source, seitan contains about 31 grams of protein per 4 ounce serving (which means it has more plant protein per serving than tofu), provides a modest amount of B vitamins and iron and contains no saturated fat or cholesterol.

Ty's Seitan Recipe

You need:
Vital Wheat Gluten (sold in bulk at whole foods or in boxes by arrowhead mills at Sunflower)
Vegetarian Faux Chicken Stock (sold in a yellow cannister at Ranch 99 or other Asian markets - you can use your favorite veggie stock in a pinch.

Process:
Bring 3 quarts water with four tablespoons of chicken stock powder to a boil

In a large bowl, mix 2 tablespoons chicken stock powder to 1 and 7/8 cup hot water. Chill it in the refrigerator for 1 hr.

Mix chilled stock concentrate with 2 cups vital wheat gluten and let rest for ten minutes. It forms a dough.

Knead dough for 5-7 minutes until it forms a kind of tough, chicken-like skin.

Cut the dough ball into 1/2 inch fillets. They will look like chicken breast fillets.

Add fillets to boiling stock water. Return to a boil and simmer for 50 minutes.

After that, you can store the chicken in the refrigerator with the stock you boiled it in. You can just pull the chicken out and use fillets as needed for any recipe.

Vegan Yum Yum Seitan and Brocollini With Clementine Teriyaki Recipe
http://veganyumyum.com/2010/01/seitan-and-broccolini-with-clementine-teriyaki/

Serves Two
8 Ounces Sliced Seitan (I used the recipe above)
1 Cup Sushi Rice (I used brown rice)
6-8 Stalks of Broccolini (I used regular broccoli)
2 Clementines (I used tangelos)
1 Tbs Vegetable Oil
Japanese Seven Spice, optional (I didn't use this)

Clementine Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 Cup Low Sodium Tamari
1/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Fresh Clementine Juice (I used tangelo juice)
1/4 Cup + 1 Tbs Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Water
Zest from 1 Clementine (I used tangelo zest)

Rinse your sushi rice in cool water and drain. Cook in your rice cooker or on the stove according to package directions, but 1 cup of sushi rice is usually cooked in 1 1/4 cups of water. Allow to cook completely and steam for 5-10 minutes off the heat while you are preparing the rest of the meal. Total cooking time for the rice will be around 20 minutes.
Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small pan let it go at a lively simmer for 20 minutes, until reduced and slightly thick. The sauce will NOT be super thick when it is hot. It will very slightly cover the back of a spoon and look syrupy, but it’s not going to be thick until it cools, so don’t worry if it seems runny. At the end of the cooking you should see large, excited bubbles (this is the sugar caramelizing), so if you don’t see those, keep cooking. Once the sauce is done, it’ll taste good but pretty strong. Set aside.
While the sauce and the rice are cooking, prepare your seitan and broccolini. Slice the seitan into 1/8″ thick medallions, or something similar. I usually don’t prep broccolini any more than rinsing it and chopping off the ends, but if the stalks are particularly thick, you may wish to half them lengthwise. This shouldn’t be the case with most bunches you find in the store, however.
Heat a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the seitan and let brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl, turn up the heat to high, and add broccolini in one layer. Once you get color on one side, flip, reduce heat to low, and cover the pan to finish the cooking, another 2-3 minutes. The broccolini should be bright green and cooked to a tender-crisp.
Once you are ready to serve, add the seitan to the pan with the broccolini. Drizze enough teriyaki sauce in to coat everything. Beware, if the pan is too hot you risk burning your sauce, so take good care here. Once everything is heated and covered in a nice glaze, serve immediately with the sushi rice. Top with seven spice if you like a little heat.
This sauce is strong so you just need enough to coat — save any extra for a future meal.