The vegan diet is a diet that has increased in popularity a lot in recent years. Many of the people who follow this diet do it because of the ethical benefits as well as health benefits. People who follow the vegan diet do not only stay away from animal products like meat, eggs and dairy but they also are against all forms of animal cruelty in their lives including food, clothing, furniture and more. Vegans have been able to create thousands of different new recipes to substitute animal products, many of which are supposed to look and taste just like normal animal products. An example of this type of recipe is for a vegan steak.
Since steak and other beef products are very popular, it is no surprise that there is a wide variety of different vegan steak recipes. The one we will be looking at today is a delicious looking steak that is of course 100 percent vegan and animal free. It is called a Vegan Seitan Steak.
Instead of the traditional beef, this vegan steak is made from seitan. Seitan is made from hydrated gluten and it becomes surprisingly similar to the look and texture of meat when it’s cooked, making it a popular meat substitute for vegetarians and vegans. The wheat gluten is a flour produced by removing all of the starches from wheat, resulting in only the gluten remaining. Gluten is the main protein in wheat and it is also what makes dough stretchy and chewy. This is why gluten is used to make seitan which when cooked has a similar meat-like texture. Seitan is very common among many vegan recipes and is found in a lot of products you would find at vegan restaurants.
Here is how you can make vegan seitan steak right at home, first let’s go over the ingredients. The ingredients are as follows, 2 cups vital wheat gluten, 8 tablespoons of water, 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 3 tablespoons tomato paste, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Step number one to prepare the vegan steak is put all of the above ingredients into a food processor. When in a food processor, you need to make sure nothing sticks together and let it mix until everything is evenly mixed together. Once you have mixed everything together, put the mixture onto a clean surface and knead it well. You must knead it for two minutes until it becomes a solid ball. Once it is in a ball you need to cut the ball into four parts. The dough will be tough and stretchy and this is normal. Next, flatten each part into half inch steaks. Next, wrap the steaks in tinfoil and put them into a steamer basket over boiling water. Then steam it for 20 minutes.
Then, while your steaks are steaming you will make the marinade for the steak. The ingredients for the marinade are as follows, 1/2 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. First, place all these ingredients into a container and mix them together well. Once the steaks are steamed, you need to take them out of the steamer and cover them in the marinade. Let them soak in the marinade for two minutes and then you can cook them up.
Once they are ready to be cooked, place them in a deep casserole dish and cover dish. Place them into the oven at 350 degrees for one hour. Next, flip seitan and continue to cook for half an hour uncovered. Remove from oven, take out of pan and set aside to cool.
This recipe is perfect for vegan or vegetarian people who do not want to eat meat but still want to enjoy a delicious steak meal. While you can still definitely tell that this is not meat by the taste, it is pretty much as close as you can get without using any animal products. I even encourage carnivores to try this at least once because I believe you will be impressed and enjoy the taste. The best part about this recipe though is that it is simple and anyone can enjoy it and customize the recipe anyway they want.
Works Cited
Petre, A. (2016, November 1). The Vegan Diet – A Complete Guide for Beginners. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegan-diet-guide.
Andrews, A., Andrews, A., Jana, Derek, VanNostrand, R., Politzer, L., … Mark. (2019, August 14). Vegan Steak (Tender, Juicy and Flavorful!). Retrieved from https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-steak/.
Turnbull, S., & J. (2019, September 23). Vegan Seitan Steak. Retrieved from https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-seitan-steak/.
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