So if you have ever visited my blog before you probably already know I make a lot of seitan. Like a LOT. You name the meat and you will likely find a vegan version on the site. Including chicken.
I have recipes for easy chicken breast, chicken with crispy skin, fried chicken, buffalo chicken…..you get it.
But the truth is seitan takes time, because most seitan needs a nice long bake or simmer, and then it needs a very long fridge nap to firm up and turn from doughy, to convincingly meaty.
That is just the science of seitan.
So the recently I decided too late in the day I wanted chicken for dinner and didn’t have any in my freezer. I obviously could have deiced on something else for dinner but instead I started thinking there must be a way to make some vegan chicken a little faster.
Baking seitan and allowing it to steam covered in foil is my favorite cooking method. It’s quick and pretty fail proof. I also have a few recipes where I simmer it, but it is always larger pieces and it takes a good bit of time, and requires at least an 8 hour rest.
I though what if I quick simmered small chunks of vegan chicken to use in pastas, casseroles, salads, nuggets and such. I remembered seeming a lot of people make some tiktok skillet fried seitan that seemed really fast and easy ( I don’t tiktok) I don’t always need a full big vegan chicken breast, so small pieces would work for a lot of recipes, simmer up super fast, and the rest time would be minimal.
Simmered seitan holds some liquid. I mean you are cooking spongy dough in liquid, so it is naturally going to be more moist and a little softer in my experience than baked/steamed seitan. For me that is normally not the texture I am going for, but in this case it works fine. The pieces are small so cook super fast and firm up enough to slice up and use really quickly. I sliced up my test batch and heated it in a skillet with some seasoning to use on top of pasta and the whole family gave it a thumbs up!
Is this now my go to vegan chicken recipe? It depends on what I need to make chicken for, or how much time I have to cook and wait for it to rest. But if you are in hurry, don’t want to mess with shaping and baking up my easy vegan chicken breast, and just need small pieces of chicken to add to a recipe, this 10 minute vegan chicken may become your new go to!
Think pasta, casseroles, diced for chicken salad, soups, fajitas, on top of salads, or even breaded up and fried as a nugget. This 10 minute vegan seitan has a ton of delicious uses, It mixes in minutes, cooks in 10, and the rest time is hands down quicker than any other seitan I have made to date!! All of these things make this recipe and winner in my book!
INGREDIENTS:
1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water
1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoon neutral flavored oil
1/2 to 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoons salt
SIMMERING LIQUID:
2-3 cups water or broth
1-2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon ( no chicken, or vegetable) or similar bouillon paste or powder
INSTRUCTIONS:
Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.
Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more!
Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, and begin to flatten the dough into about a 3/4 to 1 inch thick rectangle. ( I use my cutting mat as a guide and try to just press it out to the size of the mat.) Cut the dough into about 1 inch cubed pieces ( refer to pictures.
Add a few inches of water or broth to a deep skillet. I used about a cup and a half per batch. If using water, add a teaspoon or so of bouillon and whisk it in. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Begin adding vegan chicken pieces to the liquid by pressing the pieces out as flat as you can between your fingers before adding to the pan. You will probably only be able to fit half the batch in the pan at a time. Allow the pieces to simmer for 5 minutes per side. Remove from the liquid using tongs kind of shaking off excess liquid from the the piece over the pan, and place the vegan chicken on a metal cooling rack on top of a parchment or paper towel lined baking sheet. Add more liquid and bouillon to the pan if needed and repeat with remaining vegan chicken pieces.
Place the vegan chicken on the cooling rack uncovered in the fridge for about three hours. It does need to rest to get a firmer texture and the longer it rests the better it will be. But for this recipe a 3 hour rest gets it firm enough to slice and use however you like.
Store in airtight container after the rest in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months.
If you like this recipe, then try these:
vegan flank steak
