Try Recipe by Carole Meade of Vegan Delicious
Modified from Anastasia from Slavic Vegan’s Homemade Chicken Style Seitan recipe
Ingredients:
SERVES 4-5
Chick’n Loaf
100g vital wheat gluten
1 x 420 g can chickpeas drained
150g firm or extra firm
1/2 cup water
1 heaped tsp chicken style stock powder (I use Massel)
2 tbsp neutral oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried oregano
15 grinds black pepper
Cranberry Sauce
125 g dried cranberries chopped
1⁄2 cup red wine
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Method
Chick’n Loaf (can be made two days in advance)
- Get a large wok with a steamer basket ready on the stove to heat a large enough quantity of water to steam for 80 minutes.
- Break up the tofu and put it in a blender with all the other ingredients except the vital wheat gluten. Blend for about 10 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and wizz it again until it’s pretty smooth.
- Put your vital wheat gluten into the mixture and wizz again for about 45 seconds or so until all the components merge and start sticking together.
- Swap your blender’s metal blade for a soft plastic dough blade.(Alternatively knead it manually very vigorously.) Using the plastic blender blade, mix it for about 2 minutes or knead your mixture until it holds together in a very smooth ball that is very elastic when you try to pull it apart.
- Get the dough ball out of the processor and slap it down a number of times onto a piece of baking paper on the bench. If it isn’t elastic enough, punch it a few times too. Then roll it and shape it into a 19-20 cm long log until it’s nice and smooth. Try and smooth out any lines and avoid little craters inside your log if you can. Then rest it for a few minutes.
- Wrap the log into a piece of aluminium foil – folding in at the sides so it’s completely wrapped up. Using a second piece of aluminium foil, lie the log and wrap it so that the original folds of the foil are wrapped over first.
- Place in the steamer basket, cover with lid over simmering water for 80 minutes.
- Once cool, you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container.
Cranberry Sauce (can be made one day in advance)
- Mix all the ingredients except the lemon juice into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down to a gentle simmer stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes with the lid off.
- Add the juice of 1⁄2 lemon, stir & taste – add the juice of the other half of lemon if it needs a little bit more tang.
- If the consistency is too thick, add a little water.
- On Christmas Day... Place your chick’n loaf on a sheet of baking paper in a baking tray. Spoon the cranberry sauce over the top and let it spill down the sides.