Deliciously succulent grilled vegan seitan chicken - perfect for a vegan BBQ, and also great pan-fried. Wonderful texture created with the flour washing method.
Ingredients
- 350 g strong white bread flour minimum 12% protein
- Filtered water
- Oil for frying
- ½ tsp smoked paprika powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
Creating a dough ball
- Place the flour into a large mixing bowl and create a well in the middle.
- Pour in a little water at a time until you can roll the dough into a firm dough ball and knead it in the bowl or on a lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
Soaking the dough
- Transfer the dough back into the bowl and allow it to rest for 10 minutes, then completely fill the bowl with water to submerge the dough ball.
- Allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Washing the flour
- Once the resting time elapses, begin kneading the dough in the bowl underwater.
- It will start releasing its starches and the water should become white and thicken slightly (almost cream-like!).
- Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes, then discard the starchy water, pour in fresh water, and repeat.
- Your dough should require about 3 washes in total and the water should not be as thick and more see-through in the end. It's normal for the dough to almost fall apart in this washing process. Don't worry - it will come back together in the next step.
- Discard the water and place the seitan dough into a big colander.
- Rinse it under running water for 10 seconds, then set it aside for 30 minutes to rest.
Seasoning
- Remove the dough from the colander and give it a gentle knead between your hands, then place it into a kitchen machine with a dough hook, add the smoked paprika and salt, and pulse for 10-20 seconds. Alternatively, you can also incorporate the spices by hand.
Stretching and knotting
- Stretch the seitan dough until you can carefully knot it.
- Repeatedly stretch and knot it about 5-6 times - this step will help to create a chicken-like shredded texture in the dough, however, the knotting takes some practice, so if you're struggling, simply omit this step.
Pan-searing
- Carefully portion the seitan into 2-3 cutlets and heat roughly 2 tablespoon of oil over medium/high heat.
- Pan-fry your seitan cutlets for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until a light golden crust forms, then remove the seitan from the frying pan.
BBQ'ing
- Heat your BBQ to its full heat and combine all ingredients for the sauce in a little bowl in the meantime.
- Brush your seitan with the sauce on both sides and place it onto the hot BBQ grid.
- Grill it on both sides for 4-5 minutes or until golden, then remove it from the grill and serve it alongside delicious salads and your favorite vegan BBQ goodies.
- For this recipe to work out, it's vital that you use high-protein, fine wheat flour. I recommend aiming for a minimum of 12 percent protein in your flour and I personally use a strong white bread flour by a brand called 'Allisons'.
- You can also pan-fry these seitan fillets instead of BBQ'ing them. Simply heat a little oil in the pan beforehand, brush the fillets in the sauce and pan-fry for a few minutes on each side, until golden.