Seitan “chicken” pieces

If you are missing chicken and find it hard to find fake chicken in the shops, this recipe is vital wheat gluten, butter beans and makes a great substitute. Takes about 90 mins and makes enough for several meals.

Put 100gm of vital wheat gluten flour into a mixing bowl.

Mash 100gm of butter beans with a fork until completely smashed add them to the bowl (the skins seem to survive the mashing and flake off during the kneading).

Add a tablespoon of vegan chicken stock, a teaspoon of onion granules and a teaspoon of garlic granules, mix all the ingredients.

Add a tablespoon of hemp oil or any neutral flavoured oil, a 2 teaspoons of Apple cider wine vinegar and 75ml of cold water to the bowl and bring the mixture into a rough dough. if there is any flour left in the bowl add a teaspoon of water at a time until the flour is mixed in.

Now turn out onto the worktop and start to knead the dough. The kneading should be stretching and folding in the same direction.

Stretch the dough out almost tearing it as it pulled and fold in half onto itself and then with the flat with the palms of your hands, push down into the dough and repeat continue for about 15 mins or until the dough becomes elastic. The kneading will develop the gluten and will produce the fibrous strands similar to chicken.

Shape into a cylinder and cut in half. Slightly rework them into 2 cylinders.

Now rest it for 15 mins. This is important to allow the gluten to develop and relax, but also to allow the Apple cider vinegar to neutralise the bready/gluten after taste (some people are sensitive, some don’t even notice it).

Wrap them both tightly in tin foil (2 layers) and gently boil in a pan of water which has a tablespoon of vegan chicken stock in it for 50 mins.

Remove the 2 parcels from the water and allow them to complete cool, in fact its better after several hours (over night is even better) and then chilled in the fridge.

Now tear the cylinders lengthways into long strips, I usually make a nick with a knife and then use your hands to rip and tear the seitan into strips , which should resemble chicken breast and then cut them into chunks ready to use in meals that need chicken replacement.

This is now ready to cook in dishes – its unflavoured wheat meat and ready to be spiced and marinated and then cooked.

The “chicken” pieces can be kept in an airtight container in a fridge for up to 10 days and used in different recipes. One example is further down.

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One simple recipe is to take a handful of the chicken and marinate them in terriyaki sauce for 20 mins and then gently fry in oil until the “chicken” is charred and crispy on the outside. and serve in a salad or a sandwich etc..

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