How to Make SEITAN!! (This is also super easy!)

Seitan is just the gluten from flour - it is a perfect (and I mean perfect) substitute for meat. As I am not long vegan I do miss my meat from time to time! Seitan is both meaty, chewy and delicious which helps me to not day dream about the taste and texture of succulent meat! I didn't know about seitan until 2 days ago, when I was talking to my dad about making my tofu he mentioned seitan as another delicious substitute to meat. I was curious and started to look for ways to make it, and found actually it was really easy to make!

I will do step by step photos to help those who don't like reading instructions (like me!)

Ingredients 

• 500g of white flour 
• 300ml of water 

Equipment Needed 

• 1 large bowl 
• A very large sieve or colander (I found the seive is better, because with the colander the bits of gluten tend to slip through the holes. If you have a colander with small holes then you should be fine though.)
• A saucepan 
• A normal sized seive
• Optional: Vegetable stock / spices/ salt etc.. 

Method

1. Mix the water and flour together in the large bowl to make a dough. Kead for around 5 - 10mins, on a board or table. (Don't add any more water than the 300ml - I promise it will come together) 

Mixing 

When finished kneading: Should look like bread dough

2. Now this is the fun part! Punch the dough at least 50 times to get the air out (do this on a table or board)

3. Put the dough back in the large bowl and cover with cold water - leave to rest for at least 30mins

Dough covered in cold water: should be completely submerged

4. Start to knead the dough inside the cold water. Do this until the water is COMPLETELY white (so white you can not see the dough at all anymore - it should look like milk) 

It should look like milk 

5. Take the dough out of the bowl and transfer the dough into you sieve/ colander. Keep the white water that is in the bowl (set it aside for the moment). Put the sieve or colander with the dough in it under a running tap. 

Transfer the dough into a sieve or colander. Under the running tap 

 6. Keep rinsing the dough with the water. The water that filters out will be white, taking the starch with it and leaving only the gluten. Do this for around 5-10 mins, until the water is relatively clear as it filters out of the sieve or colander.

This is what it should look like by the end of the rinsing period . It is the pure gluten and the water filtering out will be clear. 

5. Take out the dough and squeeze the excess water out of it (it will not be completely clear and might still be a bit white, but don't worry about that).

Pure gluten dough

6. Put the gluten dough in the fridge to set a little (around 5mins). Meanwhile boil up some water and you can put in some spices or vegetable stock etc. to make the seitan have a certain flavour. However if you just boil it then you can add flavour later when you put it in a dish. 

7. Take the seitan out of the fridge after around 5mins. Cut/ chop or pinch off bite size bits of seitan and drop them into the boiling water. 

Cut up pieces of gluten dough

8. Take the sauce pan with the seitan in it over to the sink. Pour over a sieve to collect the seitan. 

YOU HAVE SEITAN!!! Yea! :)

9. Store in the fridge, in an airtight container for up to a week. Take out and use in dishes (I will be posting some!)

10. With the bowl of water: leave the white water to stand for an hour or two, until the water and flour have separated. Pour out the water out so that you are left with just the flour. It should feel like cornflour! Store in the fridge for 3 days max - use to thicken soups etc. (Use like cornflour - for Americans that is cornstarch)

Coolingly Creamy Coco-shake

This is my favourite coco-shake (like a milk shake but made with coconut milk!), I used it as my breakfast before squeezing into my prom dress (which I decided to make myself!) and it was so light but so filling so I didn't have feel like I needed to eat before my big night!

For this coco-shake you will need to buy LIGHT coconut milk, and make sure that it has added emulsifier otherwise you won't get a smooth creamy consistency and it will be all bitty (trust me I have made that same mistake!) You will also need to make some of my fruit syrup, as it is one of the main ingredients in the shake. 

I made this strawberry powder in my dehydrator, which is so pretty to put on top of this drink and other sweet things like desserts etc. I am so excited by finding different ways to use it! If  you have a dehydrator at home then what you need to do is: 

1. Chop a whole packet of strawberries thinly into slices (it needs to be a whole packet as they shrink in the dehydrator) 
2. Put them into the dehydrator overnight (around 8 - 12 hours depending on your areas humidity)
3. Blend the dried strawberries in a bullet blender (or just a normal blender) until they are a powder 
4. Enjoy! Sprinkle on top of your favourite coco-shakes and desserts! :) 

Isn't it so pretty? :)

Coolingly Creamy coco-shake with strawberry sprinkles on top! 

Ingredients 

(serves 1)

• 1/3 can light coconut milk 
• 50ml of fruit syrup 
• 100ml of non-dairy milk (oat milk or almond milk is the best)
• Optional: 1/2 tbs of honey/ 1tbs of maple syrup/ 1 stevia/ truvia packet (However I don't think added sweetness is needed as the fruit syrup is already sweet)

Method

1. Pour all ingredients in a cup and stir really well - top off with strawberry sprinkles for a pretty effect 
2. If you are using honey or maple syrup which is a bit thicker then you might want to use a blender to mix the ingredients 
3. Enjoy on a nice hot summers day! (If England was ever kind enough to let us have one!)

Spicy Sesame Tofu Side Dish

This is a delicious tofu side dish that can be used to put that home made tofu to good use! It has a sweet gingery and sesame taste to it and is quite filling. My mother, who is my chief taste tester and quite hard to please, says that this is the best tofu dishes she has ever tried.

I adapted this dish to make it healthier and tastier from a korean side dish recipe, by adding ginger, stevia drops and green chilli it makes a really great addition to the dish!

So Good!!!!! You should definitely try this dish once you have made your own tofu! 

Ingredients 

(Serves 2-3) 

• 1 blocks of firm tofu (300g) (tofu that you made by hand)
• 2 green chilies 
• 75ml of tamari / soy sauce
• 2 tbs of sesame oil 
• 1/2 of a white onion 
• 1 tsp of raw ginger 
• 2 clove of garlic 
• 5 drops of liquid stevia/ 1 1/2 tsp of honey/ 1 1/2 tsp maple syrup / 1 packet powdered truvia or stevia
• Optional: Salt (although I don't think this is needed)

Method

1. Slice the tofu up into small blocks 
2. Put a teaspoon of the sesame oil, 1 tbs of tamari and 2 tbs of water in a saucepan with the tofu. Fry the tofu for around 5 mins or until it has a golden colour
3. Slice up the white onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies and add to the saucepan 
4. Add the rest of the sesame oil and tamari to the saucepan and let cook for around 2 mins 
5. Serve and enjoy 

Fiery Chilli Crackers

These crackers will need a dehydrator - so I am sorry to those who don't have one and will try to create an alternative.
They go perfectly with the guacamole that I have already posted as they are spice and crunchy, whereas the guacamole is smooth and creamy.
I love them if I need a quick light snack as they are sort of like making your own crisps!

Ingredients 

• 4 tbs of ground flax seed 
• 2 tbs of buckwheat flour
• 1/2 a red pepper 
• 1 tomato 
• 2 tbs of nutritional yeast 
• 2 tsp of onion powder 
• 1 tsp of chilli powder (more or less for your own taste)
• 1/2 tsp of salt 
• 2 tsp of tamari
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 
  

Method 

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth 
2. Spread onto a dehydrator sheet smoothly 
3. Dehydrate on the highest temperature for around 10 - 20 hours (depending on how humid your country is - London is extremely humid so you may have to do this for longer so they go crispy!)
4. Break up for a rustic, handmade look and serve with your favourite dip or my guacamole recipe 

Smoothly Seasoned Guacamole

This guacamole is one of my best recipes (according to myself!), I have made it many times, and each time it has gotten better with more refining and adjusting.
I served this guacamole with my fiery chilli crackers which made a perfect snack.
At the moment I think it is at its best flavour (but if I change it then I will let you know). I have added one secret ingredient: coriander seeds (not so secret any more!) which give it a delicious flavour and make it taste more seasoned. (I don't know how many people read this blog - probably not many - but for any Americans out there coriander is cilantro).

Ingredients 

• 1 very ripe avocado 
• 2 & 1/2  tbs of lemon / lime juice (most guacamole recipes call for lime juice but I like lemon juice with it as well)
• 2tsp of coriander seeds 
• 1/2 tsp of ground coriander 
• Handful of fresh coriander (around a tbs of leaves)
• 1/2 tsp of salt 
• 1/2 tsp of pepper 
• 1/2 a chopped onion (red or white - red is sweeter)
• Optional: 1 -2 green chillis (for an extra kick!) 

Method

1. Put all ingredients in a blender/ food processor - blend until it is your desired texture (some like it real smooth and others like it chunky) 
2. Dish out and enjoy - this recipe keeps for around 2 days in the fridge 

Okara savoury pancake with a curry filling

As I just made by own tofu last night, I had lots of okara to use. Therefore by doing some research I found some really good recipes from some sites for inspiration about how to use the okara. I found a brilliant recipe on The Messy Vegetarian blog.

I have slightly adapted the recipe to make it more like a savoury pancake that me and my mum had it for lunch. It was soooo delicious, and as my judge, my mum labeled it 'most definitely blog worthy.'

There are many recipes that I make where she says they are good but not good enough for the blog whereas my sister just says every dish is good and could go on the blog! So be sure that this recipe has gone through vigorous testing and has been approved for a brilliant flavour! :)

I am absolutely terrible at making pancakes (and I mean REALLY bad!) - as I always end up with a gooey mess in my pan that doesn't even remotely resemble pancakes AT ALL! However making these carefully in a non - stick pan with coconut oil seemed to work for me. You can still see in the picture (even though I have tried to disguise it) it isn't exactly perfect, but I am trying to get better at it, and for me these pancakes have been my first successful ones in YEARS! :)

For other terrible pancake makers I have included tips below on how to make sure these work (and they did work which I am ecstatic about!)

Served with a light watercress salad

Ingredients 

(Serves 3)

For the Pancake batter

• 180g of okara (not dried and slightly moist)
• 80ml of soy milk (or other non dairy milk)
• 2tsp of olive oil 
• 1/2 tsp of ground turmeric 
• 1 tbs of flour (I used brown rice flour and it was delicious) 
• 1 1/2 tbs of nutritional yeast 
• 3 tsp of onion powder
• 1 1/2 tbs of cornflour
• Salt to taste (around 1 tsp)
• 1 1/2 tsp of egg replacer + 1 1/2 tbs of water 

For the curry filling 

• 1 onion 
• 1 clove of garlic 
• 3 - 4 medium chopped tomatoes 
• 1 tsp of olive oil (you can omit this if worried about calories etc.)
• 1/2 tbs of garam masala 
• 2 tbs of pancake batter above 
• 1/2 a chopped pepper 
• 1 chopped green chili 
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Method 

1. Put all the pancake batter ingredients - except for the egg replacer, in a bullet food blender (or just a normal blender) and blend until very smooth. 
2. Beat the egg replacer in the water and then add to the batter. Blend again. The batter will not be watery like pancake batter but more doughy (so don't worry if it didn't turn out like actual pancake batter) 
3. Heat the non - stick frying pan with some coconut oil (or other oil) until VERY hot (so that when you flick water on it, the water spits and 'dances') 
4. Scoop out 1/3 of the batter into the frying pan and press down the batter with a fork to make a circle of batter - it needs to be relatively thin. 
5. Wait around 3 -4 mins until it looks like the top is dry. Then very, very carefully lift, with a spatula, the pancake off the frying pan. Carefully flip the pancake over and cook for 2 -3 mins 
6. Lift the pancake off the frying pan and repeat with the rest of the pancake batter (twice more as you have 2/3 to go) - make sure you leave 2 tbs of the batter for the curry filling 
7. Set aside the pancake to cool
8. For the curry filling - chop the onion, garlic and tomatoes 
9. Sauté the onions and garlic with 2 tbs of water and the olive oil - do this for around 5mins 
10. Then add all the other ingredients and cook for another 5 mins 
11. Add to heaped spoonfuls of the curry filling to each pancake and fold over (like in the picture) 
12. Serve with a small side salad and enjoy!

TOFU!!!!! (It really is very simple to make!)

Tofu is such a great vegan substitute for meat and is an essential part of a vegan kitchen (at least to me anyway!) I thought that tofu had some really difficult process to make it, and was impossible to make by hand - but I was so wrong! It is actually really simple to make, with no complicated ingredients or steps. You also get so many products from making your own tofu - soy milk, okara and, of course, tofu.

The only one thing I don't like about it is that it leaves a lot of washing up to do afterwards!!!

This is my first major experiment and, apart from yielding a surprisingly small amount of tofu and me spilling soy milk ALL OVER my cooker, this turned out excitingly well! Word of advice: watch the boiling process AT ALL TIMES otherwise when you come back you will have froth, soy milk and okara all over you cooker and counter tops that you will have to clean up (not pleasant!) I doubled the recipe I used so that you get more tofu.

All you need is dried soy beans, water and lemon juice (or other coagulants, however I liked the taste of lemon juice tofu!)

Apparently, according to Viet World Kitchen , nigari and gypsum produce the best tofu - but all I had on hand was lemon juice, which is supposed to give a grainier texture, and I did like the flavour of it. Gypsum is supposed to make tofu that is slightly sweeter, so can be used in puddings etc. whereas I found that the lemon juice made my tofu quite springy (and maybe the same sort of texture as very thick scrambled egg!)

You also can make or buy tofu moulds, which would be better than what I did. However with my method you won't need that special equipment.

My 'Mould' - I used the okara and soy milk filled jar as my weight

Finished tofu! 

Okara - after being pressed to a semi - dry state 

Ingredients 

• 400g dry soya beans (I got mine at Whole Foods in Kensington, in the bulk section, for under a £1)
• A lot of water (not sure of exact amount used!) 
• 50ml of lemon juice (or you can use other coagulants like nigari, gypsum, epsom salt or vinegar - but I used lemon juice and like the flavour) 

Equipment Needed 

• Food processor or blender
• Nut bag or cheese cloth
• Small colander + a pot to go underneath it 
• Very large sauce pan (unless you want to do it in batches)
• Large sauce pan 
• Very fine meshed sieve 

Method 

1. Soak the dry soya beans in enough water so that it covers the beans by around 10cm - the beans will triple in size so make sure that they have enough room in the bowl to do that. Put the beans in the fridge uncovered to soak overnight.
2. Take the soaked beans out - drain and rinse them.
3. Put the beans in a food processor or blender with enough water to cover them by around 7cm. YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO THIS IN BATCHES (I am not angry, I just want you to realise this because I didn't and by food processor started leaking everywhere!) Process until relatively smooth (it will look like thick milk but will feel a little grainy) 
4. Put this 'milk' into a saucepan with around 2.5 litres of water and cook on a medium heat for around 30mins. Stir constantly and when the foam starts to rise - it will be after the 30mkns of cooking time - take off the heat straight away. (WATCH AT ALL TIMES otherwise you might come back and the milk will have boiled over and spilled all over your cooker)
5. Put the fine mesh sieve over another large saucepan (doesn't need to be as large as the previous one). 
6. (You might need another person for this step) Pour the 'milk through the mesh sieve so that the soy milk drains out into the saucepan and the okara (the grainy byproduct) is left in the sieve. Press the okara with a spoon until feels like all the soy milk has drained out and the okara is pretty dry. DON'T THROW THE OKARA AWAY, it can be used in many recipes that I will be posting on the blog!
7. Heat the soy milk until it boils. At this point you might want to take some soy milk out for drinking use (I took a jar out) -  but you don't have to and you will get more tofu 
8. Add the lemon juice to the remaining soy milk in the saucepan (or all the soy milk if you didn't take any out for drinking). You should see that the lemon juice works almost immediately in separating the soy from the water 
9. Let it keep boiling for around 4 - 5mins 
10. While it is boiling prepare the mould  - Put the colander inside a pot the fit underneath it. Put the nut bag/ cheesecloth in it 
11. When the soy milk has finished boiling pour the contents into the nut bag/ cheesecloth in the colander. Wait till most of the water drains out and then fold the nut bag/ cheesecloth over the tofu inside so that the tofu is completely covered by the cloth/bag. 
12. Place a plate on top of the nut bag with tofu in it and then place a VERY heavy object on top of that (I used the bowl of okara and the jar of soy milk because I was too lazy to find a really heavy object!). Leave for 15 - 40mins (depending on how stiff you want the tofu). 
13. You can use the tofu straight away or store it:

Storage 

1. For up to a week tofu can be stored in the fridge. You will have to slice it up into smaller blocks and place it in water in a airtight jar
2. You can also freeze it for up to 4 months, I would say, at the most