El Seitan or Kofu, by Elsa Braga

THE CAMALEON OF THE NATURAL KITCHEN

What is seitan (say-tahn)?

Seitan is a protein-rich food, made from wheat gluten and used in numerous vegetarian dishes. It has a solid and meat-like texture, and its flavor is neutral. It constitutes an authentic chameleon in the kitchen, because it easily takes the flavors of the meals with which it is cooked. It can be found in stores of dietary products, packaging and expiration date. It comes in a round or rectangular shape, and brown.

Brief history
It is known as seit n in Japan, as kof in China and as gluten steak in Europe. It has been used as food in China, Japan, Korea, Russia and the Middle East for thousands of years. In China the seit n is called the food of Budha due to the use that was given to it by the pacifist Buddhist monks, in substitution of the meat they refuse to consume (assuming the cruel killing of animals)
Nutritional value
Seite is an almost complete and high-quality protein food (it has more protein per serving than tofen, another important food in natural cuisine). It incorporates a reasonable amount of vitamin B complex and iron, and is free of saturated fats and cholesterol. In 100 grams of seitan, 118 calories, 18% protein and less than 1% unsaturated fat are contained. The same amount of meat has 207 calories, 32.2% protein, and a high degree of saturated fat. As recent studies show, our need for proteins is much lower than what has been recommended, and that corresponds to a reference value so many times exceeded in our eating habits. On the other hand, any opportunity to avoid saturated fats in the diet represents an immense improvement in our health.
How is the home seite prepared?

• For 1 serving of 500 to 650 grams:
• 8 small glasses of wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 3 cups of water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 to 3 tablespoons roasted sesame oil (optional)

Mix the garlic powder and ginger with the flour and stir. Add the liquids to the mixture and knead vigorously until it forms a very homogeneous dough. Let rest for two to five minutes, and then continue to love it for some more time. Leave it at rest, submerged in water, more than 30 minutes.
Knead again, this time with wet hands, to remove the starch. Renew the water frequently until it becomes clear (at this time the dough will be mainly gluten). Always keep the dough together, without breaking it down (if you do not want to go through this process of extracting the starch, you can buy gluten flour, which will be enough to add water in the same amount ). Let the dough rest 15 minutes.
Pour the following ingredients into a pressure cooker:

• 4 glasses of water (wine glass size)
• glass of soy sauce
• 1 piece of kombu seaweed approximately 7.5 cm.
• 3 or 4 slices of ginger (optional).

Boil the seitan mass. Cover the pot and put it on a very low heat, keeping it for 30 minutes. Then it can be boiled, sliced. It can be stored in the refrigerator (covered with water and soy sauce), or even frozen.
Seitan with mushrooms

• 2 slices of seitan
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice dessert
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce dessert
• 15 grams of margarine or butter
• 50 grams of fresh mushrooms
• 0.5 cm2 of soy cream or milk cream
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• Dried thyme leaves
• Water
• Salt

Season the seitan about two hours with garlic, bay leaf, thyme, lemon juice and soy sauce, covering it with water to half its height. Apart wash the mushrooms well and cut them into slices. Put them on the fire with butter or margarine until they are soft and season them with a little fine salt. Drain the liquid that forms and add the creams. Save it.
Take the seitan and pour the oil into a pan, frying the seitan until it turns a golden hue. Then drain the oil well and add the mushrooms and creams, stirring the mixture for a few minutes.
Serve with asparagus or rice, and with a green salad
Bon Appetite
Elsa Braga
Bibliography consulted

• "The Vegetarian Journal"
• "Macroapetito, natural and Portuguese cuisine", by Eugenia Varatojo. Floresta editions