Heather's fake meat recipe

I got a fake meat recipe from a friend years ago, I think he developed it himself. Over the years I've modified it here and there. It's very much like the seitan you get in the store, though I have never been able to get that meat like shreddiness. The beauty of this recipe is that you can season it any way you want and then it's infused with flavor before you use it. Unseasoned is rather bland and it does not really absorb much in marinades.

It is important to stick to the liquid/gluten amounts, if this gets too wet it does not cook up correctly. If you halve the recipe, use 2/3 cup water.

Start with 2 cups wheat gluten 1 1/4 cups water or stock (don't mix yet!) add 3 tbl liquid flavoring, for an asian final result, add soy sauce, for greek, add lemon juice, for mexican the juice from salsa, you can also try red wine or white wine or any combination 2 tsp oil (sesame, olive, peanut, whatever) 3 tsp dry seasonings like garlic, 5 spice powder, Penzey's Greek seasoning is particularly good, chili powder, italian herbs, or any other spices you might like.

mix together with fork until everything is incorporated and you have a seasoned brain in your bowl. Let this rest for 5 minutes or so. Knead 5 times. DO NOT OVER KNEAD!!! It's really tempting, believe me. Just don't. You'll end up with a tough end result.

Let it rest again for 15 minutes.

Whip up a simmering liquid. You need about 5 cups or so. Use broth, water, add soy sauce or a little wine or garlic or ginger or whatever strikes your fancy. I sometimes use a little seaweed in vegetable broth. Bring this to a boil.

Take your gluten ball and slice it into about 6-8 pieces and stretch them a bit. Add them one at a time to the broth and reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes. You have to check it regularly, it floats and will need to be shoved around so all the pieces have time in the broth. Your pieces will almost double in size.

take them out, let them cool.

Slice it up and use it in stir fries, run it through a meat grinder for crumbles, use it in fajitas, spaghetti sauce, I've even made potstickers with it.

My favorite is to make it with lemon juice, greek seasoning and garlic. I slice it thin and pan fry it until the edges are crispy and serve on pita with gyros fixings.

It's incredibly versatile stuff. Seal it well and freeze it.

Keep in mind that the fake meat is already cooked, you just need to heat it through, if you overheat it you run the risk of rubbery chewiness. Generally, I halve the recipe.

-- .:Heather:. www.velvet-c.com Step off, beyotches, I'm the roflpimp!