Wheat gluten (food)

Seitan (alternatively: Mianjin, wheat gluten, wheat meat) is a product of wheat protein (gluten) with meat-like consistency.

Seitan was originally developed by Chinese and Japanese Zen Buddhists and used in place of chicken and pork. Until today it is part of traditional Japanese tempura dishes. Seitan was also the product name of a Japanese wheat gluten product, which was founded in 1962, developed by the macrobiotic teacher, George Ohsawa with Kiyoshi Mokutani, the head of Marushima Shoyu Company. 1969 seitan was first exported by Erewhon in the United States.

PREPARATION AND USE

To prepare seitan wheat flour is first kneaded into a dough with water and washed out after a rest period repeated by kneading under water, thereby allowing the dough gradually withdrawn by a majority of thickness and a chewy, gluten- rich mass remains. As an alternative to wheat flour and gluten flour can be used, in which the starch and gluten has already been separated from each other, so that the washing is omitted. His meat-like consistency and taste gets Seitan by boiling or steaming the raw in a marinade that traditionally consists of soy sauce, seaweed and spices. Then it is cut into slices or chunks and can then marinated or directly reused, so for example fried, deep fried or baked in the oven. Seitan can be used as a substitute for meat in many meat dishes, are inserted and also frozen.

A Japanese variant of the seitan is Fu (麸"Fu", literally " gluten "). Fu is first prepared as seitan, but then roasted, steamed and then dried. Therefore, it is many times lighter than seitan. Before cooking it is soaked in hot water, then expressed, and can then be used as Seitan. Like a sponge, he takes in the preparation on a lot of fluid and thus increases its volume.

In the West today, especially vegetarian - vegan meat substitutes are produced industrially from Seitan - for example, vegetarian sausages, " ground beef ", " Gyros " or " pulp".

Nutritional value

100 grams of seitan normally contain 4, rarely up to 40 grams of carbohydrates, 25 grams of protein and 1 gram of fat.

Word origin

The name " Seitan " is a neologism, which was the Japanese- inventor of the macrobiotic diet, Georges Ohsawa ( Nyoichi Sakurazawa ), minted; by him, the court was also known in the West.