Seitan: How to turn flour into meat-free 'chicken' nuggets | 91av

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Seitan: How to turn flour into meat-free ‘chicken’ nuggets

All you need to make satisfying plant-based protein is flour and water. Seitan, or wheat gluten, takes a little effort to produce, but the results are worth is, says Sam Wong

By Sam Wong

8 April 2020

What you need

Flour

Water

For vegan chicken nuggets:

Vegetable stock

Vegan coconut yogurt

Flavouring, eg paprika or oregano

Breadcrumbs

Vegetable oil

AS MORE and more people cut meat from their diets, seitan, or wheat gluten, has surged in popularity. Making it at home takes a bit of effort, but I would recommend it, if only to marvel at how flour can be transformed into something resembling meat.

As mentioned in earlier columns about noodles, pastry and pancakes, gluten is made from wheat proteins that link together in the presence of water, forming a strong but flexible network.

Gluten has acquired a bad name in some quarters, with many people blaming it for digestive trouble. People with coeliac disease have an immune reaction to gluten, but for those without this condition, there is little evidence that gluten is unhealthy. Some studies suggest that digestive problems are more likely to be caused by certain types of carbohydrates in wheat.

Plain flour is around 10 per cent protein, but stronger types of flour can be 15 per cent or higher. You can use any flour to make seitan, but the higher the protein content, the more seitan you will get.

Start with a kilogram of flour and 2 teaspoons of salt in a large mixing bowl. Add just enough water to bind the flour into a stiff dough – about 500 millilitres, but this will depend on the flour. Knead it until smooth, then rest it for an hour to let the flour hydrate.

The biggest component of flour is carbohydrate – mainly starch – which we don’t want in the seitan. To remove it, wash the dough with water to dissolve the starch. Put the dough in a bowl in the sink, add a bit of water and knead the dough until the water becomes milky. Pour off the water and repeat multiple times until the water stops turning white. This takes about half an hour. If you are feeling frugal (and aren’t vegan), save the starchy water from the first few washes and mix it with egg to make a pancake batter.

After this, the dough will still be malleable, but with a texture more like a chicken breast. In China, seitan is called mianjin, meaning “wheat muscle”.

Seitan can be deep-fried at this point, which gives it a spongy texture. But if you are using it as a meat substitute, boiling it first will make it denser and firmer.

To make a vegan version of chicken nuggets, first cut the seitan into nugget shapes. It will expand during boiling, so keep them small – you should get 16 to 20 nuggets out of 1 kg of flour. Boil them for 15 minutes in salted water or stock – a good option to improve the flavour of the seitan, which is otherwise fairly bland.

Marinate the nuggets in dairy-free coconut yogurt mixed with paprika, oregano or other flavourings. Then coat them in breadcrumbs and deep-fry in vegetable oil for a few minutes, until they are nicely browned. Panko breadcrumbs are best as they contain large flakes that add a lot more crunch than ordinary breadcrumbs.

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