Have you ever eaten Seitan?

Pronounced “sey-tan”, as in “say, you look tan.”

Seitan.

I stopped eating meat in early 2007, and even though it’s a “meatless meal” substitute, it wasn’t until this year that I’d ever tried the stuff.

My first time was at a veg friendly restaurant, and it was one of the dinner specials. When the waitress described it, she said it was made out of wheat gluten, is high in protein (120 calories, 2 g fat, 21 g protein per serving!) and its texture is a lot like meat.

She also said it was really good.

Whoa. Did you say “really good”? Well why didn’t you say so sooner!! Really good!! Bring on the satan! I mean, seitan.

Now see, I’m not a giant fan of the “fake meats” or “meat like substitutes”. When we first stopped eating meat I’d use these sorts of a substitutes a lot.  But as I’ve learned to cook, I’ve come to depend on these types of food products less and less.

But I mean… wheat gluten? Really? The stuff that so many people have dietary trouble with?  The stuff that Wikipedia describes as “an elastic mass”?

Yup, that’s the stuff. I’m glad the waitress didn’t use the term “elastic mass” to describe it to me that night, because that just doesn’t scream “really good” to me.

But you know what?  That waitress was right. It was really good.

So while I don’t buy seitan a lot, it does sometimes end up in the shopping cart.  It’s a fast meal option and I do appreciate its protein content.  One of my favorites ways to serve seitan is over shredded Brussels sprouts.

Seitan is typically precooked, so all you have to do is heat it up. Tonight I sauteed it in a little Annie’s BBQ sauce, Braggs amino acid, Tabasco and a little garlic powder.

As soon as the Brussels sprouts are ready,

it’s time to eat.

Elastic for Two.

Wheat gluten, fake meat or not, we like it.  The texture is enjoyable and is very much like meat. If you’re looking to eat less meat or like me, are veg and have just never tried the stuff; take that waitress’s word on it:

It’s really good.