Alfrigg the Habba

Vegan Seitan Steak

Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken

Inspired by the amazing recipes for vegan steaks by The Happy Pear and Veggie Rose.
Yes, it's vegan!! Mouth-watering, tender, chewy, juicy, flavourful, meat-like texture. Amazing! BBQ or pan fry then serve whole or slice and put on top of salad for a steak salad. So delicious and satisfying!

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Marinate: 30 mins
Total Time: 45 mins

>Ingredients

For the vegan seitan steaks:
1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten
1 cup cooked lentils (I used canned)
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the vegan seitan steak marinade:
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave

>Instructions

• To make the vegan seitan steaks:

1. Add all of the vegan seitan steak ingredients to a food processor and pulse to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed until everything is well mixed. Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor you can first mash the cooked lentils with a fork or potato masher, then add everything together in a large bowl and mix well.

2. Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and begin to knead it together. It may be a bit crumbly at first, but keep kneading it for a few minutes until it comes together into a tight ball. Do not over-knead the dough, the more you knead it, the tougher the steaks will be, so knead it just until it comes together. Cut the ball into 4 sections, then use a rolling pin to roll out each section into ½" thick steaks. The dough will be very tough and stretchy, but just keep working at it until you get your desired steak shapes.

3. Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Put the steaks in the steamer basket and cover with a lid. It's ok if they are overlapping a bit. Steam for 25 minutes, flipping the steaks halfway through so they steam evenly. They will double in size.

4. In a large ziplock bag or air-tight container, mix together all of the marinade ingredients. The oil won't really combine, but that's fine. Remove the steaks from the steamer and coat in the marinade. Let marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes before cooking, or for as long as several days when kept in the fridge.

• To serve the vegan seitan steaks:

When you are ready to enjoy the vegan steaks, heat a frying pan, grill pan, or barbecue. When hot, fry or grill the steaks a couple of minutes on each side until grill marks form. Brush the steaks with leftover marinade while cooking to keep them juicy, and also right before serving.
Serve however you desire. I like mine served with a potato and some greens. I also enjoy mine sliced and put on salad. So many possibilities!

• Notes from the author:

Freezing: pop the steaks in the marinade and freeze the entire thing, marinade and all. I have found that after frozen and thawed the steaks might suck up more of the marinade so you might want to whip up extra marinade for brushing on when cooking.

Vital wheat gluten is essential to this recipe, and there is no substitute. Therefore this recipe cannot be made gluten-free. For a vegan gluten-free chicken inspired recipe try my Baked Tofu Bites recipe.

Steaming tips: I recommend getting a steamer pot if you plan to make seitan often, or you can use a DIY method if you do not have a steamer.

Cleaning tips: vital wheat gluten is very sticky and can destroy dish brushes and cloths. So what I like to do is save old clothes, sheets, or towels that are too shabby to donate, and cut them into rags. I use these rags to clean up after preparing a seitan recipe and discard the rag once finished.

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This is one of the best vegan recipes I’ve ever made and I hope some of you will take the time to try it! It blows me away each time I make it, it’s so delicious and healthy. 😊