BBQ Seitan Chicken and Stirfry zucchini

So, I picked up some vital wheat gluten at the market, and thought I'd try making some seitan. I used a recipe from seitan-worship.com, for the chicken-style one.

POULTRY PIECES: CHICKEN-FLAVORED SEITAN

Makes 8 pieces Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes

2 cups raw gluten

1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground

3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon tarragon

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon thyme

2 teaspoons corn oil

Divide raw gluten into 8 pieces. Using a meat mallet, pound these pieces into the shape of boneless chicken breasts. In a saucepan, combine water with all remaining ingredients to form a poultry-flavored broth. Add raw gluten pieces to broth.

Cook gluten in broth over medium heat for 45 minutes without boiling. Slow cooking allows the poultry flavoring to penetrate the gluten. If the broth is allowed to boil, the texture of the poultry pieces will become spongy, but if cooked slowly, it will resemble chicken breasts.

Poultry pieces are best when dipped in batter or flour and then fried in oil. However, they can be diced or chopped immediately for use in soups or salads.

I then put Gunnison River BBQ sauce (an old family favorite) on top of the "chikken" and put it in the over for a half hour.

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. vinegar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
Dash of cayenne
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (use vegetarian sauce, so it doesn't have yukky anchovies in it)
1 tsp. salt

Heat the oil in large saucepan and saute onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Store, refrigerated, in covered glass container.

The squash was just sliced thin and sauteed with diced onion in olive oil.


Verdict: The chicken was yukky. I think I should have cooked it in a BBQ style broth instead of the one I did. I dunno. I'll have to experiment more with it, since this was the 1st time I had ever made it. Squash was excellent though.