The 2010s saw plant-based diets explode in popularity, and now you can get all manner of vegan comfort foods in supermarkets that weren’t available five years ago. As with most things though, homemade is better and this vegan fried seitan and gravy will definitely hit the spot if you’re craving some chicken.
Cooking time: 1.5 hours (30 mins active)
Serves: 4 or 5 as a main
Ingredients
For the seitan:
200 g vital wheat gluten
800 ml vegetable stock
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried tarragon
1.5 tsp light soy sauce
2 bay leaves
For the coating:
150 g plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried tarragon
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
200 ml soy or oat single cream
Chilli sauce (I used sriracha, but Frank’s would work well)
500 ml neutral oil for frying
Method
- Mix the vital wheat gluten with all the dry ingredients for the seitan in a glass bowl, then add 260 ml of the cold veg stock and the soy sauce and stir. It will quickly form an elastic dough; make sure to scrape all the dry powder off the sides of the bowl and incorporate. Tip out onto the work surface and knead (it will be surprisingly un-sticky), stretch and tear the dough for about 5 minutes. Shape into a rough ball, cover with the bowl and leave for 10 mins.
- Bring the remaining veg stock to a light simmer in a medium saucepan and add the bay leaves. Roll out the seitan (this is a nightmare, just take your time and stretch with your hands as well) to about 1.5–2 cm thick, and cut into your preferred shapes with a pizza wheel or sharp knife. I tried a few small nuggets, some strips, a couple of square patties for sandwiches and 2 chicken breast-shaped pieces, all of which came out great .
- Give the pieces a final shape/stretch and add to the simmering stock in two batches and put the lid on. Let each batch boil for 20–30 mins (depending on the size) before removing to a rack and adding the next lot. In the stock, the seitan will puff up to about 2–3 times its size, but will then deflate as it cools. Reserve any remaining stock. You can do these steps ahead of time if you like, the pieces will keep covered in the fridge for a few days, and it seems to firm up a bit.
- When you’re ready to fry, blend the plain flour with the herbs, spices, salt and yeast in a large bowl. In another shallow bowl mix together the soy cream and a good squirt of chilli sauce. A great tip from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is to drip a tablespoon or two of the wet bowl into the seasoned flour and give it a rough mix. This makes lumps in the coating, which will result in lots of crispy batter bits on your seitan. Heat a heavy bottom pan or cast iron skillet with 500 ml of neutral oil in it up to 175°C (a chopstick dipped in the oil should start to bubble after a second or two).
- Using the ‘wet-hand dry-hand’ technique, place a piece or two of seitan in the flour with one hand and thoroughly dredge. Transfer into the wet bowl and use your other hand to ensure the piece is well covered. Back to the dry bowl for a final coating in flour (drop it in with your wet hand and use your dry hand to dump flour over the top of it until it’s covered. This stops both hands ending up a claggy mess) then lower into the hot oil.
- Fry the seitan in batches and keep your eye on the oil temp, it will drop when you add pieces. As the seitan is already cooked, just fry for 5 minutes or so, turning once or twice until the coating is crispy and brown. Remove from the oil to paper towels, then onto a drying rack to stop them becoming soggy.
- Once all the seitan is fried, turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes for the oil to cool a bit, then make your gravy. Using a tablespoon or a heatproof silicone scoop, carefully gather all the loose flour/crispy bits on the bottom of the cast iron pan to one side (be sure not to splash yourself with the still hot oil!). Scoop 4 or 5 tablespoons of this cooked flour mix out from the oil and into a small saucepan, and add a tablespoon or two of the oil itself. Heat over high heat, and stir in a tablespoon of the seasoned flour, it will bubble and after a minute or so, add a few ladles of your cold seitan poaching liquid and mix rapidly. As it heats up it should thicken without any lumps. Depending on how salty your veg stock is and how thick you want your gravy, adjust the consistency by adding more stock or water. Once its thick and boiling, add a final grind of black pepper and a splash of soy cream to lighten it up.
- Serve as part of a main meal with mashed potatoes and collard greens, or add to burger buns with crisp salad and chilli sauce.
The secret weapons in G.F.S are the soy sauce, nutritional yeast and tarragon, which provide intense savouriness and a flavour commonly paired with chicken. I like this spice mix, but really you could use whatever you have at hand and it will still taste pretty good. I’ve often heard KFC make their gravy from the flour sludge in the bottom of their fryers; it’s a great tip to get a rich meaty gravy, even when there’s no meat! Before battering and frying, the seitan can be frozen for up to a few months, so it can be worth prepping ahead with a big batch. Just defrost the night before and allow to warm up a bit before you fry.
— Galv
The Hundy Club 