Make Wheat Gluten
Wheat gluten, literally “noodle/dough tendon” (also spelled mien chin or mien ching) is a really versatile “vegetarian” ingredient. It is also called seitan (pronounced /ˈseɪtæn/), wheat meat, gluten meat, or simply gluten. Seitan is popular among vegetarian and macrobiotic eaters as a vegetarian meat alternative to tofu based products. For some people, it is their preferred meat substitute.
All you need is flour to knead into a dough, water to wash the dough and oil to fry the gluten. Be confident about making this on your own because it is extremely easy, not to mention healthy, as you are making it in your own kitchen. Moreover, it is quite an experience to make it for the first time as you will be amazed at how the dough transforms into a rubbery texture (gluten) after washing it in running water.
Contents
Ingredients
- 500 grams (about 4 cups) of flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- Water
- Oil for deep frying
Use a strong bread flour if possible as it contains more gluten.
Steps
- Place flour into a suitable bowl for kneading. Add salt.
- Gradually add water as you knead the flour into a dough and let it stand for 2 hours covered by a piece of moist cloth.
- Wash the dough. With the dough resting in a bowl, place bowl in kitchen sink and turn on the tap. Allow water from tap (medium flow) to run into the bowl and start kneading dough in the running water. Yes, keep kneading and washing the dough. The water will turn milky as the starch will be washed away but keep kneading. The dough will eventually shrink to about 20% of its original size and it will feel rubbery.
- Keep kneading till the water becomes clear. Remove and drain.
- Heat oil in a wok. Pinch a piece of washed dough (it’s like rubber) about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} x {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} and fry it till it puffs up and turns golden brown.
- Manage the heat from the stove so that the oil does not overheat. Dish up and place on kitchen napkins to absorb excess oil.
- Finished.
Warnings
- About 1% of the population has Celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and should not ingest any gluten at all.
Things You'll Need
- Bowl
- Wok
- Kitchen paper towels
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- Prepare Tofu
- Make a Mixed Nut Roast
Sources and Citations
- Wheat gluten. Shared under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.
