Mark-Style Seitan

We've recently fallen in love with a new technique for using up okara - Mark-Style Seitan.  This recipe comes from a chain of other internet sources.  Andy found it on The Airy Way, who based this recipe on one from The Irreverent Vegan,  who adapted it from Scrumpdilly, who got the recipe from Joanna of Yellow Rose Recipes.  Did you follow that?

The first time Andy made these he followed the recipe fairly precisely, and they came out gorgeously!  The okara makes the seitan roll-able, so that it doesn't spring back quite so much when you're trying to shape the seitan dough.

Things we made with it were: Hawaiian Seitan (marinated in pineapple juice, soy sauce, and some other stuff) served with pineapple fried rice.

Dijon-Lemon Seitan, marinated and baked in a thick and tangy sauce.  Served with a stuffed capsicum, smashed potatoes, and cauliflower popcorn.

And Seitan Piccata, based on the recipe for Gardein Chicken Piccata from The Conscious Cook.  This is a lemony-capery sauce that we added dill to for a delicious and quick meal.

The next time, Andy tried to incorporate flavourings like tomato paste into the dough.  And he swapped the whole wheat flour for chickpea flour. 

The result was even less springy.  When Andy rolled these out they didn't even think about bouncing back.

But when we boiled up the first batch, they kinda dissolved.  Into a mushy, yucky mess.  There were a few salvagable bits of seitan left, but they were spongy and generally not nice.  However, fried up to a crispy, oily state they weren't too bad on a sandwich.

(We also tried turning the small mushy bits into a pie, but that was a serious waste of food because it was Not Good.)

Luckily Andy experimented with a double batch.  Before boiling the second lot, he kneaded in some more gluten flour, and some whole wheat flour (wearing gloves, of course, to avoid getting smelly seitan-hands).

This saved them, I think.  The result was still spongier than the original, but definitely edible.

These ones went well as a burger, with caramelised onions and dill mayo.

Also delicious marinated in a BBQ-like sauce and baked (served with smashed potatoes and cauliflower popcorn).

The moral of the story: If you have access to okara, you should try this recipe.  It is tender and cooks up into so many delicious meals.  Just don't stuff around with the recipe too much!