How To Create Homemade Seitan Recipe Tastily

When I first read the word seitan, I was reminded of a certain fallen angel. But then I realized  if this plant based protein meat substitute is anything to take seriously, now it’s rising in popularity. And rightfully so! It is popular because of its versatility, health benefits, and its meat-like texture. Did you know you can easily make nutritious seitan at home using vital wheat gluten? Seitan is one of the vital wheat gluten uses. And here at Humble Vege, we have many healthy seitan recipes to enhance dishes. An example is our Heavy Liberian Palava Sauce Seitan Stew. Want to learn how to make seitan with vital wheat gluten? Subscribe and proceed to read on for our homemade seitan recipe.

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What is this plant based protein meat?

Seitan, pronounced ‘say-tan’ or ‘say-tawn’ has become an increasingly popular meat substitute. It is a life-saver for anyone leading the plant-based eating lifestyle.

The word is of Japanese origin. It is said to come from the word sei meaning ‘made of,’ and tan from the Japanese word Tanpaku, meaning ‘protein.’ Despite this, other findings claim it dates back to ancient China, where Buddhist Monks discovered wheat meat. Yeah Monks!

But what actually is this plant based protein meat? Seitan is a meat-substitute made out of vital wheat gluten where the gluten is extracted from wheat and made in the form of flour. Some people skip the processing factoring by simply buying flour and rinsing the flour until its wheat gluten remains. This process of “rinsing flour” is a skill so stay tuned for a DIY on that.  When I buy the wheat gluten from the store, I then proceed to hydrate it and cook it. There are many more vital wheat gluten uses out there, such as a binder for baking breads, but I simply use it as a meat substitute. 

Why try our homemade seitan recipe

Researchers claim, store bought seitan is often high in sugar and sodium. This is to make up for the lack of flavor as some say it tastes like bland chicken. LOL! “How would they even know since they don’t eat chicken?!” Many plant-based people used to eat animal products so we can easily tell. Remember what I said about how seitan’s  versatility? Well, it can absorb the flavor of what it is cooked in. That’s why we have so many healthy seitan recipes, as well as vital wheat gluten uses. No, you do not have to excessively knead your seitan, which is what most people do. Cooking involves a lot of prep work already, therefore, in true libra fashion, I took the road less hassle 😃.

This recipe shows you how to get the right texture, consistency and flavor as your baseline. When you flavor your actual dish using our homemade seitan, it doesn’t conflict with flavors.

Video Recipe

For example, in this Ivorian Attieke experiment, I learned Hijiki seaweed flavor is strongest when you use the water (the one from soaking the seaweed). And when you don’t over manipulate it with lots of seasoning & overpowering smells. No garlic or onion powders, etc. So go wild with your food, that’s how you find the best healthy seitan recipes. You want to subscribe to our free newsletter because the hijiki seaweed flavor seitan recipe publication is around the corner.

Homemade seitan recipe nutritional value

We know seitan is considered healthy due to its low fat content and high protein value. But it is still quite difficult to make an accurate nutritional value list for DIY healthy seitan recipes. Regardless, researchers gives us approximate values, based on vital wheat gluten. About 28 grams of the gluten contains a mere 0.5 grams of fat, and 21 grams of protein. That’s roughly the equivalent protein found in chicken or beef! Protein is good as it helps in muscle maintenance and building. As well as for cell function. 

Plant-based and vegans are constantly bombarded with “…but where do you get your protein!?” interrogation. Some meat eaters aren’t asking out of curiosity, they inquire to tell us to STOP being silly and just eat meat. NO! Cause poppycock tomfoolery .

Thumpyrose

Why seitan is the best plant based protein

At Humble Vege, we love to try all sorts of plant-based substitutes and bring you recipes from all over Africa, not just the popular ones, the unheard of ones too. We sometimes experiment with other substitutes out there to be informed. Another substitute tried and tested was vegan cheese, in our Spicy Wheat Gluten Seitan Sandwich. Results? The sandwich was delicious, but without the cheese. If you’re a vegan looking to spice up your dishes without hurting your wallet, vegan cheese may not be the way. But you can check out this article for some cheap recipes. And you can make this homemade seitan recipe too!

Lastly, not a zero sum deal…

The first time Humble Vege posted a video of this plant based protein meat, people thought it was beef. Some people were afraid of the name (African wahala hahahaha!) It no be Satan nah aunty, it be Seitan oh! 

Jokes aside, this is not a bottom-line lose-lose deal, you can use seitan and other meat substitutes if you want to reduce your animal consumption. We show you how to make seitan with vital wheat gluten, it is so simple. Also, if you do not have nutritional yeast, I beg, do not use baking soda oh! We don’t know if it will work. If you found this recipe useful, check out more healthy seitan recipes, abi subscribe, like and share this recipe oh! Comment below your input yeh. Curious about a no-animal-meat food lifestyle? Check out our Instagram page for real-life inspirations 😊.