How do I make tasty seitan in a pressure cooker?

Question

Today I made my first seitan. I mixed gluten some spices and herbs with cold water and kneaded a bit, then boiled in broth for 40 minutes; I failed to leave it undisturbed. When done, the chunks were clearly a great part water, but I threw them on a hot pan indifferently and fried them with oil and some more spices.

When I ate them, I found them a bit spongier than I would like, but overall insipid. Would following this recipe improve my results? How should I go about replacing the pot with an electric pressure cooker?

Answer 1

In my experience a pressure cooker does not greatly influence the taste nor the texture of seitan.

The same recipes apply for cooking in a regular soup pot and in a pressure cooker, but here are some suggestions that might help:

Texture:

The sponginess can be reduced by making a bit dryer (less hydrated) seitan dough and kneading it a little more, which makes it more compact and chewier. Also I find that the next day (after the cooked seitan was sitting in broth) the texture tends to be a bit better.

Flavor:

If the broth is too weak (cause of diffusion) the flavor gets washed out of the seitan ... so I always make quite a strong broth (i.e. on the spacier/saltier side). Adding something like some shiitake can help add more richness and umami.

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I had great success with variants on this Miyoko's recipe for "unturkey" ... at least the proportions/ratios of spices/salt/soysauce are quite good ... but then you can experiment with different spices (I like it with a bit of smokiness and heat, so I usually add some chipotle chiles).

What this recipe also suggests is:

• adding a little bit of chickpea flour to the active gluten (1/4 cup chickpea to 4 cups of gluten), and
• pre-baking the seitan before boiling

both also contribute to a nicer texture and crust.

Answer 2

Seitan that is boiled can get a kind of rubbery texture if it is cooked above a simmer, which your pressure cooker would definitely do. Seitan that is boiled also has a tendency to expand a lot, which can lead to sponginess.

A few ways to combat this are to add a little bit of another type of flour to combat the rubbery texture. Just a few tablespoons of whole wheat, garbanzo, almond, or about any flour will help. If you still boil it, it will expand, but the sponginess may not be as noticeable with a more tender texture.

To avoid the actual expansion, you can either simmer it it a lower temperature or cook it by a different method. I've had decent luck steaming seitan, but my preferred method is to braise or bake it. This leads to a denser texture, which I prefer. Keep in mind though, that since it isn't cooking in a broth (aside from the small amount for braising), you'll need to add more flavor to the dough itself.