Homemade Wheat Meat



I made this meat all by myself.

 I was about to make 'Philly cheese-wheat sandwiches,' but realized I was out of wheat gluten/seitan. Luckily, I had some vital wheat gluten in my cabinet, so I decided to make some. It's not that it's so hard or anything. I just didn't feel like going back downtown just to go to Whole Foods. It was really easy. Now, there are some vegetarians out there who find it distasteful to make vegetarian food look like meat, but I'm not one of them. Besides, wheat gluten naturally looks like meat. Or what do you think? Does my batch of wheat gluten look like meat to you? Now, if I was making cheesesteak sandwiches, I'd probably cut these a little thinner. So, I'll cut them thinner a little later.

What a time saver!

Before they had vital wheat gluten in the store, the way you would make this stuff is to take regular flour, knead it for a long time, let it rest, knead it some more, then, rinse out the starch from the flour, leaving the gluten in a wet ball. It's therapeutic and relaxing, but you may not want so much therapy. So, now, with this vital wheat gluten, you just add water and the gluten ball magically appears.

Bob's Red Mill's Vital Wheat Gluten Flour has a recipe on the packaging, which I use as a base. My recipe is as follows:

2 cups of vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup of garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup of soy flour
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder

6 cups of water
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of molasses

When I follow Bob's Red Mill's recipe, my gluten is a little spongy and the taste I'm going for is a little denser, like WestSoy's products. So, I looked at the box and they put in garbanzo bean and soy flour, so I decided I would too.

Mix the vital wheat gluten, garbanzo bean flour, soy flour, garlic and onion powder together. Add the 2 cups of water and stir well. You will notice that it will solidify very quickly so work fast! Now, form a ball and knead it for a minute or two. Let it rest a few minutes while you prepare the simmering broth.

In a stockpot, pour in the water, the soy sauce and the molasses. Bring to boil, then lower the heat to simmer.

Break the gluten ball into 8 pieces. Each piece has 23 grams of protein. I cut each ball into 12 pieces and I toss it into the broth. Repeat with the others. Now, don't worry that the pieces look small because they will expand while cooking. Let the gluten simmer in the broth for an hour, then drain. And that's it. You can freeze them if you want, or keep a few days worth in the fridge.

I didn't have to go downtown and I saved myself some money too. You can get vital wheat gluten at Whole Foods, PCC or Red Apple. Try to make some yourself and let me know how it went.

Gluten Rolls with Chinese Cabbage



Gluten Rolls

 Gluten rolls (mianlun, 麵輪) or wheels are made from gluten rolled up into a 'sausage,' then cut into pieces and deep fried. When you get them, they are dried, so you will need to soak them before using them. If you don't soak them long enough, they will have crunchy parts within a softened texture. You do want them to have an even texture. I find that they are worth eating because they are chock full of protein, but also they have a different textural experience from anything you can find in a non-Chinese market. You can buy these in Chinatown at Ping's Food Mart (510 South King Street) or 99 Ranch.

Gluten Rolls with Chinese Cabbage
2.5 ounce of gluten rolls
1/4 medium Chinese cabbage
4 Chinese black mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
1 cube of fermented bean curd
dash of sesame oil
coconut oil

Separately, soak gluten rolls and Chinese black mushrooms in boiling hot water for 45 minutes. Remove mushroom stems and slice into pieces. If you notice that your gluten rolls are not soft enough, I let them stay in the hot water a little longer. They have a tendency to float so I usually put a bowl on top of them, to keep them submerged. Chop garlic. Cut cabbage into bite-sized pieces (if not a little larger than that). Pre-heat pan on medium heat. When the pan is warm, throw in your garlic and cabbage. Keep the cabbage moving with a spatula, making sure the cabbage and garlic don't burn. Throw in your mushrooms, your fermented bean curd and your gluten rolls. If you haven't thrown out the water that the mushrooms were soaking in, pour a teaspoon or two of the water into the pan. Cover pan and steam for 3 minutes or so. Uncover pan and if there is excessive water, allow it to reduce. If your fermented bean curd didn't break up yet, mash it and spread evenly. Pour in a dash of sesame oil and stir to coat evenly. Serve immediately with brown rice. Serves 1 large-ish portion or 2 decent servings. 25 grams of protein as one serving.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Wheat Sauce

Whole Wheat Pasta with Wheat Sauce

Where would you be without easy, high protein meals? And pasta is easy, don't you think?

Whole Wheat Pasta with Wheat Sauce
4 oz. whole wheat pasta (fusilli pictured here)
4 oz. store bought vegetarian spaghetti sauce (Prego pictured here)
2.5 oz wheat gluten/seitan, minced.
parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
pepper, to taste
other herbs, to taste (dried basil, for me; oregano for you?)

Prepare pasta according to directions on the package. Here, the pasta was cooked for 11 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, warm up the sauce and mince the wheat gluten and put it in the sauce. Throw in pepper and other herbs. When the pasta is cooked, drain and put in a bowl. Pour sauce over the noodles and top with parmesan cheese. Serves 1. 24 grams of protein.

Vegetarian Duck Noodle Soup

Pho (Vietnamese Rice Noodles) is popular in Seattle. You can get a good bowl of beef pho, but I have found that the vegetarian pho always sucks, maybe because they think that vegetables are substantial enough for a meal? Why isn't there a choice to add wheat gluten, instead of let's say just vegetables or tofu? I like tofu every now and then, don't get me wrong. It just seems as if vegetarian noodles are an afterthought. Here

is my version.


Vegetarian Duck Noodle Soup



Vegetarian Duck Noodle Soup

2 teaspoons vegetarian chicken bouillon

1 piece of star anise (with 8 points)

1 cinnamon stick (or cassia)

1/2 teaspoon of sugar

1/4 medium onion

1 green onion

1 slice of lime

1/2 can of mock duck

3 or 4 oz of rice noodles

Optional:

handful of mung bean sprounts

a few sprigs of cilantro

Sriracha sauce

Hoisin sauce

Thai basil

Bring to bowl 2 cups of water. Add the bouillon, star anise, cinnamon, ginger, onion, sugar and mock duck. Simmer for ten minutes or so. If you want to simmer longer, that's fine. Don't let the water reduce too much. You can always water back. Meanwhile, chop up the green onion. Remove the star anise, ginger and cinnamon. Prepare the noodles per instructions on the package. Pour the noodle and the broth into a bowl, top with the green onions. If using, serve with lime, mung bean sprouts, Sriracha sauce and hoisin sauce. Serves 1 (21 grams of protein).



Wheat Gluten 'duck' and vegetarian bouillon.

If you are not a fan of vegetarian chicken bouillon, you can make a mushroom soup base with Chinese black mushrooms. Soak 6 dried mushrooms until soft and remove stem. Add mushrooms to boiling water and simmer for thirty minutes then follow the rest of the directions.

I'm not a fan of too much cilantro, but normally, I would add mung bean sprouts. I just didn't have any in the fridge. I'd add maybe a squirt of Sriracha. I never use hoisin sauce in my noodles. My friend in Los Angeles likes to mix the hoisin with a plate of raw onions and eat it with the noodles. He's Korean and he says that it's a Korean thing.

And if you want to come over and have some, let me know ahead of time and I'll make extra!

Basic Wheat Stir-Fry with Lao Gan Ma Sauce

Here's an easy dish you can make in a very short time.

BASIC WHEAT STIR-FRY

1 8 oz. box of Wheat Gluten such as West Soy Seitan Strips.

1/2 medium onion

1 bell pepper, preferably red (or green, yellow, orange)

coconut oil for cooking

1 teaspoon of Lao Gan Ma Sauce

a splash of soy sauce

a splash of sesame oil

Makes 2 servings.

Pre-heat pan on medium heat. Remove wheat from packaging and squeeze out the excess water and place in a bowl. I have chosen to use the strips. Don't expect them to look like perfect strips. I guess it would be better to call them chunks. If you want perfect strips, get the cubes and cut them yourself. Don't be afraid to squeeze hard. Gluten is pretty strong and will usually snap back into place. Chop the onion into desired size. Turn the bell pepper on its side and cut off the top and the bottom. Slice in half and remove the seeds and connective membranes. Cut the top and bottom into usable pieces and remove the stem from the top. If you choose to cook over high-heat, you must work quickly and move the food around very quickly to avoid burning and to distribute the seasoning. I choose to leave it on medium heat.

Scoop in some coconut oil and coat the pan. Toss in the onions and bell pepper pieces. Let it cook for about three minutes or until the onions are cooked to desired state. Put in your Lao Gan Ma (老干媽) Sauce. You may be asking, what the heck is Lao Gan Ma Sauce? Well, it's a sauce invented in Guizhou and used by spice enthusiasts. It consists of soybeans, chilis, Sichuan pepper. You also find it in Hunan or Sichuan cooking and now, more or less, everywhere. There is MSG in it, so if you are completely against the idea of using MSG, you can make your own by mixing chilis with fermented black soybeans and Sichuan pepper in some oil. I don't add MSG into my food, but if it's there already, I'm not too obsessive about it. I eat it occasionally even though I would love to abuse the sauce. No, this is not a cry for help. The Sichuan pepper in the sauce is labelled as prickly ash, which is the same thing. It's the stuff that makes your tongue tingle in a good way.

If you find a picture of a surly woman on the bottle, then you have the right brand. There are three kinds and I get the crispy one. I got mine at the ABC Supermarket in Beacon Hill. You can get it at Viet Wah or 99 Ranch Market.

Throw in your wheat, then splash in some soy sauce and coat the pieces evenly. If you have too much liquid, allow it to reduce. At the end put in a little sesame oil and mix evenly. Serve immediately with brown rice. Each serving has 30 grams of protein.

I personally prefer red bell peppers because they are sweeter and use green bell peppers if I want a bitter vegetable for taste balance, but I was drawn to orange bell peppers today.

Variations: if you're not into bell peppers or onions, try snow peas and Chinese black mushrooms (also known as shiitake mushrooms) with the same sauce or with black bean sauce.

The wheat has the mouth feel of chicken or beef, but it's vegetarian, I swear!

Most People Can and Do Eat Wheat Gluten

For easy meals, I use wheat gluten. Most people don't have allergies, sensitivities or diseases related to eating wheat gluten. It's a classic ingredient used in Chinese vegetarian cooking that's been around hundreds and hundreds of years. Moreover, you can make it at home. For a quick and easy meal, I just pick up some in the various forms you can get from the store. This one is from West Soy. It comes in cubes, strips or ground. They did not have ground at Whole Foods. Also, this one is not pure wheat gluten. It also has garbanzo bean flour and soy flour. I usually cut the cubes into chunks or strips and make a stir fry, which I will blog about one of these days. Today, I was in the mood for wheat burgers.

Basic wheat burger

1 8 oz box of wheat gluten, minced

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 egg

bread crumbs

Refined coconut oil or clarified butter, for frying.

Makes 4 wheat patties. About 15 grams of protein per patty.

In a bowl, mix the wheat gluten, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Crack in an egg and mix thoroughly. Toss in a little bread crumbs and mix. If the mixture is too watery, add more bread crumbs. When you get a mixture that starts to clump together, you are done. Form into patties. If you wish, put them in the freezer. Meanwhile, pre-heat a skillet on medium heat. After a few minutes, put in the oil or butter, distribute evenly. Fry each side 4 minutes. Serve immediately. You can place them in between buns, add mustard or ketchup, cheese, lettuce, if desired. Or eat with brown rice or by itself with some sauce.

Variations: add your own spices, such as dried parsley, or throw in some minced vegetables or mushrooms.

I made these for lunch today and had some fresh grated ginger tea. For dessert, I had longan (longyan, 龍眼). I will blog about this Chinese fruit some other time.

I weigh 188 pounds now, for a total loss of 7 pounds since the beginning of the year.