White Wave Seitan

By: Tanya Taylor, PhD | Jun 30, 2005

One of the biggest challenges facing the average vegetarian is how to get enough protein. The answer actually came a few hundred years ago, in China. Seems some Buddhist monks were actively searching for some kind of meat substitute that would help not only sustain them physically, but to have more pleasing (perhaps meat-like) texture that what was already available (that would be soy protein, or tofu, y'all). Somewhere, somehow, someone came up with the idea of making a simple flour dough, kneading it to create gluten, and then rinsing out the residual wheat starch. After an extended cooking in a broth of ginger and soy sauce, viola, there became created Seitan!

I tried the "Traditional Seitan." By itself, it may look rather like an unappealing beige lump, but it's nicely (and subtly) flavorful when eaten cold right out of the box. But this is not the best means by which to enjoy this ancient food; it's much better as an ingredient. Seitan by it's very nature is hearty of texture, and mildly flavored, making it a great addition to a wide variety of dishes. Certainly, stir fry comes to mind immediately. Don't cook this too long, or it can become spongy and, well, 'texturally challenging'. It can also be made into an excellent stew, soups, fajitas, and even stroganoff. It doesn't brown terribly well, due to the lack of caramelizing sugars in it's composition, so don't expect a nice brown crust when it comes out of your sizzling wok.

It's a relatively decent value as well. An 8 ounce box is just over $3, which is enough to carry through two, maybe three meals, depending on how you use it. Unfortunately, there are 440mg sodium per serving, owing to the use of soy sauce in the preparation; not very high, but enough that those on sodium restricted diets may want to exercise some caution. For those of us more fortunate, it is very low fat (1 gram per serving), saturated and trans-fat free, 140 calories per serving, 3 grams of carbs, and is practically pure protein, weighing in at a hefty 31 grams per 85 gram serving. Considering there are 2.5 servings in an 8 ounce box, that's some mighty impressive stuff!

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