Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site hscfvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!houxm!mtuxo!mtunh!mtung!mtunf!ariel!vax135!timeinc!phri!pesnta!amd!amdcad!decwrl!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!wjh12!hscfvax!ewj From: ewj@hscfvax.UUCP (850039@P.Fuller) Newsgroups: net.veg Subject: Re: Vegetarian Cookout Message-ID: <120@hscfvax.UUCP> Date: Mon, 1-Jul-85 02:43:23 EDT Article-I.D.: hscfvax.120 Posted: Mon Jul 1 02:43:23 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 3-Jul-85 08:19:01 EDT References: <2928@decwrl.UUCP> Organization: Health Sciences Computing Facility, Harvard University Lines: 297 The following recipes are for those of you interested in cookouts and also for those of you wondering about ``burgers.'' Hope you are not put off by the great length of this recipe listing, but what can I say? These recipes are from a book on wheat gluten (seitan) which will be out by the Spring of 1986. There is a questionnaire at the end for those adventurous gourmands among you who actually complete the recipes. This preparation will produce a thick sticky substance resembling chicken or veal after it is cooked. It can be preapred in a variety of ways. In the Orient, this food is often referred to as Buddha-Food since the Buddhist monks often used it as a meat substitute (those who were vegetarian). The first step is to wash the starch out of the wheat flour. What to do with this will be covered in the book. After the starch is gone, you are left with the gluten which is what makes bread dough sticky and makes this seitan delicious. Hope you get through this recipe and enjoy it. I am especially interested in readers/cooks/ eaters comments so I can have the greates possible previewers of the recipes. All to perfect the instructions, ingredients, etc. Copyright (c) 1985 Leonard Jacobs I. BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREATING GLUTEN (UNCOOKED SEITAN) FROM VARIOUS FLOURS: SEITAN 1 To make 2 1/2 c. uncooked: 4 cups whole wheat flour 4 cups unbleached white flour 3 1/2 to 4 cups water Preparation of gluten for making seitan occurs in four phases. They are mixing, kneading, resting, and rinsing. After the rinsing, the gluten of the wheat will have been separated from the starch and bran. All three of these elements may be reserved in one of a number of ways (explain elsewhere). Most commonly, the gluten is cooked soon after its preparation, and this is what we usually call "seitan ." The varieties of gluten/seitan I call \#1,\#5, and \#6 are made in basically the same way. In this recipe I have only included \#1. It is helpful to use a mixing bowl which is at least four inches taller than the size of the dough it is to contain, although it should be able to fit into your kitchen sink for most efficient processing. A large stainless steel mixing bowl (12 qt?) is adequate for making the larger amounts of seitan listed above, and will be very comfortable for the smaller amounts, but smaller bowls of course may be used. Do not use a wooden bowl as it could be damaged by the time it spends in water. Put all the flour for the batch of dough into the bowl. In the case of mixed flours, the flours should be well blended with a fork prior to adding the water. Add the water one to two cups at a time, and mix well with a spoon or paddle after each addition. When all the water has been added, begin to mix with one hand while holding the bowl steady with the other. If this is done with the bowl in the sink, it will make additional water accessible (you can operate the faucet with your dry hand) in case the mixing hand need water on it to prevent excessive sticky dough from accumulating on it. This is when the telephone always rings. Begin to knead with the ``mixing'' hand and continue to knead for 50 or 60 strokes with a motion which scoops up a generous handful of the dough from the bottom of the bowl and deposits it on top of the dough in the bowl, to be pushed down firmly with the backs of your fingers. Rotate the bowl a few inches in between kneading strokes to achieve thorough mixing. Let the dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes. If you have to leave for an extended period of time, cover the dough with a damp cloth, as if leaving bread to rise. It is during this time that the gluten develops, so be sure to allow at least 20 minutes at this point. If the gluten does not develop well, much of it will simply turn into batter and wash away in the next phase. After the resting period, knead the dough again, with damp hands, for 20 or so strokes. You should be able to notice that the consistency of the dough, while still fairly soft, is much more dense than before. It is during the rinsing that you will actually separate the gluten from the starch and bran. When you tell your friends about this, they probably will not believe you until they try it themselves! With the bowl containing the dough placed in the sink, run lukewarm water into the bowl at the edge of the mass of dough.Fill the bowl with water. Begin to manipulate the dough by lifting it in both hands, and compressing it gently but firmly between the palms of your hands. Repeat this about 15 times, then run more water slowly into the bowl. Repeat this squeezing motion under the stream of water, picking up a new double handful of dough every so often and squeezing it under the running water. Turn off the water, or direct it away from the bowl, and continue to pick up dough from the bottom of the bowl and compress it a few times between the palms. The water should now be very thick and white. Pour it off into a large measuring cup (the easiest way I know of to transfer it ), and pour from the measuring cup into a large (one gallon is good) glass jar. If you have extra jars, you can save up to 3-4 gallons of this ``starch water'' which will, in about 2 hrs. time, separate in to layers, the top of which may be poured off. (more about this in another section). Repeat this method of filling the bowl with water, squeezing the dough thoroughly, and pouring off the milky starch water. You may want to save only the water from the first one or two bowlfuls. After two complete cycles, the dough can be treated much more vigorously. Continue to squeeze the dough under gently running water, but as you observe the developing gluten, which you can recognize by its stringy,elastic qualities, you can increase the strength of the water stream and the vigor of your squeezing, until you are really stretching and pulling the gluten in all possible directions. You may alternate water temperatures, as warmer water makes the gluten softer and cold water makes it more rubbery. When the gluten has formed a fairly solid mass, and there are no longer any small loose pieces floating about but it is all quite elastic and holding together well, you may put it into a colander with large holes (not a strainer) and finish the rinsing process this way, as most of the starch has been either saved or discarded. The remaining kneading is to remove any traces of starch which are still evident. Squeeze the seitan firmly, away from running water. Any water which comes out of it should be almost clear. If there is much starch present in the finished seitan, the texture will not be as good when it is cooked. In spite of the length of this description, the total time for rinsing need not be more than 20 minutes for a double batch (5 cups seitan), once you have practiced it once or twice. III. BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR VARIOUS METHODS OF COOKING SEITAN SIMMERED CUTLETS OR CUBES 2 cups uncooked seitan 4 cups water 1/4 to 1/2 cup tamari (for ``strong tamari broth seasoning''use 1/2 cup) 3" kombu 1 tablespoon sesame oil 4 to 6 1/8" slices fresh ginger root Slice the seitan into 6 slices each 1/2 inch thick, or 10 to 12 slices each about 1/4 inch thick. When cooked, these will almost double in thickness. Uncooked seitan may also be cubed before cooking, to be used in stews or skewered dishes, or other recipes calling for cubes. The edges have quite a different appearance than those cut from larger pieces of seitan already cooked. When the broth is to be seasoned with one of the seaoning mixes, use those ingredients instead of the above. After bringing the water and kombu to a boil, remove the pot from the heat and add the necessary seasonings. Allow it to stand for five minutes before adding the gluten, then proceed as follows: Bring to a boil all of the ingredients for the broth. Reduce the heat and add, one by one, the gluten slices. Gluten may also be cut up into small pieces. Cover the pot and simmer for about 2 hour. Boiling the cutlets will result in a more spongy texture. Stir the pieces occasionally by lifting and repositioning them to minimize breakage. After about 2 hours, most or all of the broth will be absorbed into the cutlet pieces. If any remains, save it for flavoring gravies or other sauces or soups. Even when the pieces are well-cooked, they may be fairly soft and tender; at this point they are still very ``breakable,'' so handle them carefully. They will become firmer as they cool, which is best done by allowing the seitan pieces to remain in the broth so they will be less fragile when removed. PEPPERONI SEITAN 2 cups gluten flour one recipe sausage seasoning SAUSAGE MIX 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 1/2 tsp. sage 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. dry mustard 1/2 tsp. black pepper 4 tsp. paprika 1 1/2 tsp. salt STOCK FOR COOKING 4 cups water 2 tablespoon tamari 4" kombu Combine the dry ingredients. Drizzle the oil over the surface of the seasoned flour and mix in well with a fork. Pour the water slowly over the flour-oil mixture, working in rapidly with a fork so all the ingredients are moistened. Knead well to blend. Divide the dough and string each into four equal parts. To cook: form each of the four pieces of seitan into a cylinder. Tie with the string to maintain the cylindrical shape: wrap the string around the cylinder in a spirallic line,then crossing it in the opposite direction using the same winding motion. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and heat the broth in a heavy covered ovenproof pot or dutch oven. When hot put the cylinders into the broth and simmer 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Bake for 20 minutes then lower oven heat to 275 degrees F. Turn the links every 20 minutes until most of the broth is absorbed. When turning for the last time, dribble 1 teaspoon of oil over the top of each one. Remove the cover, and bake 15 minutes more, turning every 5 minutes for even browning. These cylinders will more than double in size while cooking, so select a pot large enough to accomodate the finished size. Cool the pieces of seitan thoroughly before carefully removing the string. If you got this far why not go a little further and fill in the enclosed questionnaire. And if you get an appetite for more of this food, send me mail directly and I will send you more to try. 200 recipes at last count and still counting. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PEOPLE PREPARING SEITAN DISHES: Please answer "yes" or "no" or give any other comment as you wish. 1. Were the directions clear? 2. What kind of additional information would you like to see presented for the given recipes? 3. How easy/hard was it to make, relative to how it sounded? 4. Would you make it again? 5. Could the dish be arranged in what you consider an attractive way? 6. Who was it prepared for? 7. Did they( the diners) like it? 8. What is the number and/or name of the recipe?. 9. What kind of comments did they have ( solicited by you or otherwise?) 10. Would you suggest a name for this recipe? 11. Which brand of flour did you use for your preparation? ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE TASTING: 1. What is you visual impression (assuming the dish you are tasting has not been demolished or otherwise messed up)? 2. What is your initial taste impression? 3. Would you like to prepare this dish yourself? 4. If you are inclined, please enter a title for this recipe (please be positive) 5. Please make any other additional comments below: THANK YOU VERY MUCH ...I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED YOUR ``RESEARCH !'' Please send responses direct via mail. --Leonard Jacobs