Wheat gluten (seitan, or 面筋 in Chinese) is absolutely underrated.
Totally plant-based, high in protein (roughly 21g protein per 100g), low in calories, fat and carbs, and with its plain taste and sponge-like texture, wheat gluten can be flavoured and incorporated into any types of diet.
It’s fairly easy to make wheat gluten at home. Rinse a wheat dough to remove all starch, and the final sticky mass of protein is the gluten you need. The starched water can be used to make Liangpi (a thick noodle-like Chinese cold dish). To save time, I usually just buy a pack of dried wheat gluten, and soak them for 2-3 hours before cooking. The wheat gluten, after blanching to remove sourness and the earthy taste, can be used in braising, stir-frying, salad, hot pot and many more cookings.
Below is a recipe of a traditional yet very flavoursome Chinese way of cooking wheat gluten. My grandma, when she can still cook, loves to make this for any big family gatherings, as many Chinese dish names, it has a great symbolic meaning – 4 happiness (4 typical ingredients used in the dish including wheat gluten).
Ingredients: dried wheat gluten, dried shiitake mushroom, dried wood ear fungus, dried Chinese lily flowers, roasted peanut, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cooking oil
Sauces: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, rock sugar with a ratio of 1:1:1:1, mushroom powder, sesame oil, chilli powder if you fancy a spicy kick
Method:
- Soak wheat gluten, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear fungus and lily flowers for 3 hours. Keep the shiitake mushroom water.
- Blanch the gluten with boiling water, pat dry, and pan fried for 3 minutes until slightly golden.
- In a pan, add cooking oil over medium heat, sauté star anise, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks.
- Add mushrooms, gluten, lily flowers and peanut, stir-fry slightly, add rock sugar, light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and mushroom powder.
- Add shiitake mushroom water and more water if needed to cover almost all the ingredients.
- Simmer for 20 minutes. Splash a generous amount of sesame oil before serving.