Seitan-Portobella Stroganoff from VWAV
Posted by Anonymous on Jun 18, 2007 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
So, we made this tonight and I thought it was terrible. It was my first seitan experience (I made my own from VWAV). Has anyone made this and thought it was wonderful? I thought the seitan just tasted like meat-like bread and the sauce for the stroganoff was not impressive. My omni boyfriend really liked it though. I really was looking forward to making this--I used to LOVE stroganoff as an omni. I had to substitute Marsala cooking wine for the Burgundy and I didn't have any scallops, but other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. Any suggestions?
I didn't have any luck with the seitan recipe. Haven't attempted the stroganoff yet. Haha, stroganoff. You can go to www.theppk.com and check out the forums there. Something may have been mentioned over there if you run a search. Hope that helps ya out!
I get a newsletter with recipes in my organic produce box every two weeks and this week's included a mushroom stroganoff recipe. I just tried it last night and it was very very tasty. And SUPER simple and fast! It doesn't have seitan in it, though. I've never had "real" omni stroganoff so I'm not sure how this recipe compares, but either way it is very satisfying to me.
Mushroom Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Earth Balance
1 tsp olive oil (or canola)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 lb mushrooms (I used crimini)
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 pint vegan sour cream
12 oz. cooked pasta (I used soba noodles)
1. In a large nonstick frying pan, melt butter and oil. Add onions and mushrooms and cook, covered, for about 3-7 minutes or until mushrooms start to soften. Leave the lid on to keep it from drying out.
2. When mushrooms have softened, add lemon juice along with basil and sour cream. Mix well. Add cooked pasta and heat throughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
:)
I think maybe I just don't like seitan, and the sauce was different than the stroganoff I was used to. CeltKat, thanks for the recipe. That sounds more like the stroganoff I'm used to. I'll try that next!
i find that seitan is very temperamental in regards to the texture it turns out to be. i bought a box of prepared seitan in broth once and it was unlike any seitan i had ever made at home. i like the VWAV recipe, but it always seems more gummy. i like the baked recipes (like S'o'Greatness). try some different recipes-- sometimes it is tender and nice and other times it is like rubber.
Yes, I was going to suggest instead of boiling seitan, try baking it. You can follow the same recipe in VwaV. Once the ingredients are all mixed together, roll into a 6-8" log and wrap it tightly with foil, twisting at the ends. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 60-90 minutes. It's sooo much better than boiled seitan IMHO.
i find that seitan is very temperamental in regards to the texture it turns out to be. i bought a box of prepared seitan in broth once and it was unlike any seitan i had ever made at home. i like the VWAV recipe, but it always seems more gummy. i like the baked recipes (like S'o'Greatness). try some different recipes-- sometimes it is tender and nice and other times it is like rubber.
Yes, I was going to suggest instead of boiling seitan, try baking it. You can follow the same recipe in VwaV. Once the ingredients are all mixed together, roll into a 6-8" log and wrap it tightly with foil, twisting at the ends. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 60-90 minutes. It's sooo much better than boiled seitan IMHO.
I concur the VwaV seitan is much better if you bake it. One thing, though, if it you don't add a bit of extra liquid, it may come out too dry. It did the first time I baked it. So the second time I added about a 1/8 cup extra broth and about a tsp. extra soy sauce. It had just the right degree of moistness, then. I hit it lucky I think. It'll probably vary from oven to oven and I think with anything that you bake the altitude of your location has an effect. (That may just be with stuff that has leavening in it.) I baked it at 325 degrees for 90 minutes. I don't put mine on a cookie sheet, just on the wrack, wrapped in the foil with the ends twisted. I think that sealing it up tightly is very important.
My DH really likes baked seitan. I made the stroganoff with the boiled version and he liked it but complained about the texture of the seitan. He *wants* me to make it again with the baked. I used the baked seitan in the Shredded Seitan, Green Beans and Scallions recipe from Vegan Planet and it was also very good.
I had awful results from the seitan recipe in VWAV. it was like a soggy/spongey log that tasted like bragg's and tamari
I had awful results from the seitan recipe in VWAV. it was like a soggy/spongey log that tasted like bragg's and tamari
I use a low sodium soy sauce, that might make a difference. Maybe you left something out? There's a lot of other seitan recipes. You might try one of the one listed on: http://www.vegan-food.net/category/meat/
If you want to perfect your seitan making, I suggest you experiment some. I chalk my success partially to just dumb luck!
admittingly, I've only tried once and failed. It was kind of time consuming and lazy slash busy, so I just haven't gotten around to trying it out again. I will, though. Thanks for the link!
admittingly, I've only tried once and failed. It was kind of time consuming and lazy slash busy, so I just haven't gotten around to trying it out again. I will, though. Thanks for the link!
Actually with a little experience, you should be able to whip out a log pretty fast. That sounds almost nasty. If you use the baking method, there's no watching the pot to make sure it only simmers and not boils. If you let it boil, it's going to be soggy and yucky, according to what I've read. I was careful to not let my simmered seitan boil and the outside of the chunks still had a texture a bit like animal fat. The inside of the chunks was good, though. Too much waste to just trim the outside off. Baked is much better.
Maybe you didn't cook it long enough I'd say.
Maybe you didn't cook it long enough I'd say.
It seems like the longer you'd cook it the more the broth would break down the gluten bonds and become soggier and spongier. Also I prefer the baked because I don't have to deal with lots and lots of unused broth to dispose of. I guess I'm too frugal but throwing out two quart jars worth of broth seems a waste. I saved it once and reused it, just "freshening" it up with a little bit of added soy sauce and the seitan was still OK. After I discovered that baking it makes great seitan, I did throw the broth out. My refrigerator is too full to save it.