The recipe we’ve been using for our seitan ribs comes from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. It’s called Barbecued Seitan Ribz, and is based on a recipe from the Vegan Chef. The latter recipe actually describes the oven cooking method we used, since barbecuing really isn’t an option for us. What follows is our version, essentially a gently modified double batch of of the two above mentioned recipes, which makes enough ribs for 5-6 persons. The main difference in terms of ingredients is that we used fresh garlic and fried onions instead of the powdered ones used in the original recipes, and that I also made my own barbecue sauce.

BBQ Sauce:

• 1 dl light soy sauce
• 2 dl mild vegetable stock
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons muscovado sugar
• 3 tablespoons fried onions
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon red paprika powder
• 1/2 teaspoon each: dried thyme, dried oregano, crushed red chili
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

First, I whisked together evetything but the liquid smoke and the olive oil, and then simmered the sauce over low heat for about 20 minutes. Then I added the smoke and the oil, and mixed with an immersion blender until smooth. This sauce is pretty salty, so reducing the amount of soy sauce and upping the veggie stock might be a good idea to make it less so.

The Ribs (for 5-6):

• 5 dl wheat gluten
• 3 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
• 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons fried onion, crushed
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 and 1/2 dl water
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce

Heikki first mixed the wheat gluten, paprika, yeast, and onion together in a large bowl. Then he combined the water with the tahini, liquid smoke, garlic, and soy sauce, whisked until smooth, and added this to the dry ingredients. Now, he stirred to mix well, and then kneaded the dough lightly in the bowl for a couple of minutes.

Now, I covered our rectangular baking dish (30 cm x 20cm) with a sheet of baking parchment, and Heikki flattened the seitan dough in the dish. This takes a little bit of time and effort, since the dough should be quite stringy at this point. Heikki cut the seitan in 16 strips, then turned the pan and cut those strips in half to form 16 pieces (as per Susan’s instructions).

We baked the ribs and the fries in 175 degrees Celsius for about 25 minutes, then turned the heat up to 200 degrees, flipped the ribs, and poured half of the barbecue sauce over them. Now, we baked them for 10 more minutes, then flipped them again, poured the rest of the sauce over them, and baked them for about 10 minutes more. This makes 45 minutes total baking time.

Curry Sweet Potato Fries (for 4):

• 3 sweet potatoes (1 kg)
• 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
• 1 teaspoon dried ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon each: ginger powder and cumin (jeera)
• 1 tablespoon muscovado sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt

First, I peeled and cut the sweet potatoes in chunky fries, and then placed all the ingredients in a big bowl. I tossed the fries until they were all coated with the curry powder, and then poured them on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. I baked the fries with the ribs: first in 175 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes, and then in 200 degrees for about 20 minutes more. We tossed them around once during baking.

These fries didn’t get very crispy, but they did hold their shape nicely, since we kept them in the oven until their tips were a little charred.

The photo was taken after we’d coated the already-once-baked roast with mustard, crushed melon seeds, breadcrumbs, and pink peppercorns. It went in the oven after coating, but we forgot to take a picture when it was all done – it looked pretty much like this, except the breadcrumbs had browned a little. There’s no inside shot either, but the roast had a delicate and pleasant texture: tender and juicy, and not chewy like regular seitan.

We chose the seasonings to fit our own tastes, but the proportions for this recipe are from a seitan ham recipe at the Finnish animal rights discussion forum.

Dry ingredients:

• 3 dl gluten flour
• ½ dl chick pea flour (gram)
• ½ dl nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary

Wet ingredients:

• 150 g marinated tofu
• 1 and ½ dl tofu marinade
• 1 dl water
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed

First, we mixed the dry and the wet ingredients in separate bowls, then poured them together, and kneaded the dough for about 10 minutes. Now, I formed the dough in a cylindrical shape, and then wrapped it tightly in multiple layers of aluminum foil. Then we baked the roast in 150 degrees Celsius for one and a half hours, and refrigerated it overnight without removing the foil.

Pictured here; the roast dough wrapped in foil, and the next day before coating.

On Christmas eve, before dinner, we spread Dijon mustard seasoned with garlic and red bell pepper over the roast, sprinkled it with crushed melon seeds and breadcrumbs, and decorated with pink peppercorns. Then we baked it in about 175 degrees for half an hour or so, until it had gotten some color.

It’s pretty hard to find smoked chipotle chilis in Helsinki, in fact I’ve never seen them, so I just used a cheap Pirkka-brand sauce called “Meksikolainen kastike (The Mexican Sauce) – salsa chilpotle”. It is actually imported from Mexico, and is pretty chipotley, but I guess real chipotle chilis would make the chili even better – and add a lot of heat!

On Sunday, I baked a seitan log, crumbled it in an electric shredder, and stored the crumbles in the fridge for future use. Now, I could just measure out 2 dl of crumbled seitan to make this chili. In case there’s no seitan log in sight, textured soy protein bits would be a good substitute.

Chipotle Seitan and Bean Chili:

• 500 g tomato sauce (or crushed tomatoes)
• 2 dl crumbled seitan log
• 380 g package cooked mixed beans, rinsed well
• 2 red onions, finely cubed
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons salsa chipotle
• 1 tablespoon wheat flour

First, I fried the onion and the garlic on medium heat until they had softened, for about 10 minutes. Then I added the rest of the ingredients except wheat flour to the pan, and stirred until the sauce started bubbling. I covered the pan and let it simmer for about half an hour.

Now, I tasted the sauce and adjusted the saltiness, and then sprinkled the wheat flour over the pan. Flour thickens the sauce, which makes filling the tortillas easier. I stirred the chili with a wooden fork until all of the flour was incorporated, and kept on stirring until it started to bubble again. Now, I set the temperature on low heat, covered the pan, and let it a brew up for an hour or so, until it was dinner time. I garnished the chili with frozen parsley, but chopped cilantro would have been even better.

Cumin Yogurt Sauce:

• 2 dl plain unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1 green bell pepper, finely cubed
• 1 big clove garlic, pressed or finely grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (jeera)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• freshly ground black pepper
• finely sliced red onion for garnishing purposes

First I took aside a teaspoonful of green bell pepper cubes for garnish. Then I mixed everything up, and garnished with the onion slices and bell pepper cubes. Now, I refrigerated the yogurt sauce for 30 minutes or so.

Then we filled our soft corn tortillas with a pile of seitan stew, yogurt sauce, and cubed cucumbers. This recipe makes enough to fill 8 tortillas.

This seitan has some tiny air bubbles in it, as seen in the photo, and for an even denser texture, I would make sure it’s wrapped in multiple layers of foil. The bad news is that aluminium foil is far from being ecological, but I can’t think of anything that could replace it in this recipe.

The gluten flour we use is not high-gluten wheat flour, but 100 % gluten. In Helsinki, this kind of gluten flour is available for example in the organic store Ekolo that’s close to where we live.

This is what I used:

• 3 dl instant gluten flour
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
• 1 dl fried onions (the store-bought kind), crushed
• 2 dl water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon red paprika powder
• 1 teaspoon dried chili in oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

First, I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

I measured the gluten flour in a bowl, mixed everything else in a different bowl, and then poured the wet mix in the gluten bowl. Now I kneaded the dough for 5 minutes, forming it in a log about 25 centimeters long, and then wrapped the log tightly in aluminium foil.

Then I baked the seitan for one hour and 15 minutes; the first 45 minutes it was placed with the seam side down, then I turned the log around so that the seam side was up, lowered the heat to 150 degrees, and baked for further 30 minutes.

After it had cooled down, I refrigerated the log overnight, and then crumbled it in our electric grinder. This could also be sliced as a pizza topping or a sandwich filling, but for me, that’s just too meaty.