The Daily Tiffin: Vegetarian Pyramid Series

It sounds like ‘Shaitan’ and probably looks like one to most of us! But sometimes good things come in ugly packages and Seitan follows that literally. The first time I saw it, I made up a face similar to its looks but then after reading considerably about it, I thought why not. I am so glad I did cos not only it is an excellent meat replacement, is a super duper source of protein for vegetarians like me. Come to think of it, it doesn't taste bad either.

Image source from wikimedia

So what exactly is Seitan?

It is made from gluten, the protein part of wheat. It is popularly known as ‘vegetarian meat’. It is also known by other names in different places – wheat meat, gluten or simply gluten meat. It has a very chewy and firm texture.Instead of reaching out for imitation meat in your local stores, which by the way has loads of additives, it would be a great idea to use seitan instead. It is immensely nutritious and without any artificial flavors. Seitan does not have any flavor of its own and hence it benefits from a marinade. Mostly you will find the precooked variety of seitan, hence simply adding it at the very end is enough. You can chop it or slice it and it goes extremely well in stir fries or stews of any kind.

Availability

Mostly available in health stores and in Asian specialty markets. Next time you visit one, don’t forget to look out for Seitan.

Benefits of Seitan

The protein content is humongous - About 85gms of Seitan consists of 18gms of Protein! It is also filled with essential amino acids and if cooked in soy sauce based broth then it would enhance the amount of vitamins and minerals. A four-ounce serving of seitan supplies between 6 and 10 percent of the U.S Reference Daily Intake of vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron.

To kick start your cooking with seitan, here are some sample recipes with Wheat gluten.

I have one simple and amazing recipe with Seitan. Its Vegan sloppy Joes. You know how some kids have problems eating any vegetables? ( or should I say anything healthy?!!). A friend of mine recently brought her son, who is die hard carnivore, to my place. Being a vegetarian, I thought why not make something which looks like a non-vegetarian and also has nutrition. I made these sloppy joes with couple of vegetables, beans and seitan and they were gladly gobbled up by him!

Other interesting recipes from the net

This post was written by Dhivya

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