Seitan chicken

5 from 6 votes

Store-bought seitan is convenient, but it's easy to make your own! Most of the cooking time is hands-off while you wait for it to steam. Use this seitan chicken anywhere that animal-based chicken would go. Slice it into sandwiches, add it to soups, or put it in your pot pie.

Makes 1 pound of seitan

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: seitan recipe, vegan protein, wheat meat

Servings: people

Calories: 94kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

For vegan chicken

1 cup vital wheat gluten
¼ cup chickpea flour
¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
¾ cup water plus 1 or 2 Tablespoons, if needed, and more for steaming
¼ teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base
1 ½ teaspoons tamari
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast flakes, dried oregano, dried basil, paprika, onion powder, granulated garlic, salt, and a dash of pepper.
In a small bowl, combine ¾ cup of water with ¼ teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon no chicken base. Stir with a fork until it dissolves. (If you'd rather, you can replace the water & bouillon with vegetable broth instead.)
Create a well in the center of the dry mixture. Add water & bouillon mixture, tamari, and extra virgin olive oil. Combine by stirring. Then once it becomes a dough, start using your hands to knead the dough and combine everything, making sure to get any dry flour from the sides of the bowl. (You don't need to knead the dough a lot. Just enough so that it's uniform with no flour-y spots.) Form the dough into a loaf.
The dough should feel moist to the touch. If it seems flour-y or dry at all, add an additional Tablespoon or two of water. Incorporate it with the dough.
Run a tea towel or cheesecloth under water. Wring it out with your hands until it's just damp. Then loosely wrap the dampened towel or cheesecloth around the loaf like a gift.
Make sure it's not too tightly wrapped. You want it to have room to expand as it cooks.
Put a couple of inches of water into a steamer pot with basket. Bring to a boil. Put the wrapped loaf into the basket. Cover with a lid. Steam for 40 minutes.
Be sure to watch that the pot doesn't cook off all of the water. You want enough water that it will keep steaming for the full amount of time, but not so much that the water touches & boils the seitan.
Once the water is at a boil, you can lower the heat to medium, and it will keep steaming the whole time. (If you don't see steam pouring out the top, turn it up. If the water looks too low, add more.)
When the seitan is done, it will be firm and bouncy to the touch. Carefully remove it from the steamer basket, unwrap it from the towel/cheesecloth, and set it aside on a plate to cool slightly. You can use the seitan chicken right away, or put it in a covered container in the refrigerator. It will continue to firm as it cools.

Notes

When slicing seitan, I recommend using a serrated or bread knife for easier cutting. If you're making deli style sandwiches, the seitan slices especially thin right out of the steamer basket.

Keep leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator. It will last for about a week.

To freeze, put the seitan into a freezer proof container or freezer bag. It will last for 3 to 6 months. When you're ready to use it, move it to the refrigerator to thaw.

Instant Pot instructions: If you'd prefer, you can cook the seitan in an Instant Pot instead. Once the seitan dough is ready, put about ¾ cup of water into the bottom of the Instant Pot. To accommodate the metal prong in the center of the steamer basket, portion the dough into four even-sized pieces. (You don't need to wrap the dough. However, if you're concerned about the dough sticking to the insert, you can lightly wrap each quarter in cheesecloth or aluminum foil.) Put them into the steamer basket, and close the pot. Cook 25 minutes on high pressure and allow it to sit for 10 minutes before manually releasing the pressure.

Nutrition