Meat Alternative Curiosity

During my dietetic internship at the Cleveland VA, we did two 4-week food service rotations in groups. The second time through, I had fun planning meals, completing surveys, and frosting dozens of cupcakes/King cake with Christine and Chris. While brainstorming on one of our special menus, Chris talked about something called seitan (pronounced say-tan) - a food completely foreign to me! It was not for another two years before I actually tried the curious stuff when Will and I inadvertently ordered it at a Thai restaurant in town - it was delicious!
Here's the low-down on this high protein vegan/vegetarian friendly food! Seitan is also know as wheat gluten. Gluten is the main protein found in wheat. The gluten is removed by rinsing whole wheat flour with water to remove the starch and leave behind only the protein portion of the grain. The gluten paste leftover is then kneaded to form a sort of firm, but sinewy mass which is surprisingly similar to beef. It comes in a hermetically sealed packet that honestly looks a little scary. Haha. The package says that it is pre-cooked so I added it later on in my stir-fry process.

Soy Seitan Veggie Stir-Fry
Ingredients:
-1 package seitan
-1 zucchini, sliced
-1 yellow summer squash, sliced
-1/2 head broccoli, chopped
-1-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tbsp vegetable oil
-2-3 tbsp soy sauce
-1/4 cup vegetable broth
-Dash red pepper, salt, and pepper
Directions:
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add vegetables and garlic. Cook until just starting to soften (~5-7 minutes).

2. Add seitan, broth, soy sauce, and spices. Continue to cook over medium-high heat until the broth has started to evaporate and create a thick-like sauce.

3. Remove from heat. Serve over rice and enjoy! That was seriously so easy to make!