Orange Chicken is a uniquely American dish that’s skyrocketed to the top of the American Chinese food list since its inception in the 1980’s. With its sweet, tangy and spicy sauce coating tender nuggets of white meat, it’s hard to reject this dish’s appeal. Our plant-based version has seitan sitting in for chicken, and we focused on not only the flavors of the sauce, but also perfecting the texture of seitan. Made with organic vital wheat gluten, seitan is truly tasty, but can have a chewiness that turns away some diners. We developed our recipe with this in mind, creating a seitan that is fluffy and tender, perfectly paired with that orange chickn sauce.
Seitan Dough
Ingredients
- 100g (½ cup + 3 Tbsp) Vital Wheat Gluten
- 10g (1 ½ Tbsp) Whole Wheat Flour
- 0.75g (1/8 tsp) Salt
- 0.9g (1/4 tsp) Garlic Powder
- 0.9g (1/4 tsp) Onion Powder
- 0.3g (1/4 tsp) Ground Thyme
- 1g (1/4 tsp) White Pepper
- 20g (2 Tbsp) Druids Grove Organic Coconut Oil
- 100g (¼ cup 3 tbsp) Water
- 2000g (½ gallon) Vegetable Broth
Equipment
- Non-Stick Mixing Bowl
- Stock Pot
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Yield
½ lb Portion
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Combine Ingredients
In a nonstick bowl mix together the vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, ground thyme, and white pepper.
Add the coconut oil and cut it into the vital wheat gluten until it forms pea sized pieces.
Add the water and mix until it forms a mass.
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Knead and Cook Seitan
Remove from the bowl and knead for 5 minutes. Use a rolling pin to help form the seitan into a 1 inch thick portion.
Simmer some vegetable broth and poach the seitan in the broth for 25 minutes.
Remove from the broth and pat dry on paper towels. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Orange “Chikn” Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Seitan Recipe (see above)
- 15g (3 cloves) Garlic
- 45g (4 tbsp) Ginger
- 113g (4 oz) Scallions (2oz for sauce, 2oz for garnish)
- 30g (2 Tbsp) Sugar
- 30g (2 Tbsp) Soy Sauce
- 113g (4 oz) Sambal Oelek
- 2 Dried Chili de Arbol
- 500g (16 oz) Orange Juice
- 60g (2 oz) Neutral Oil
Equipment
- Wok
Timing
Active Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 25 Minutes
Yield
16-20 Servings
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Sweat Garlic, Ginger, Scallions
Slice the seitan into 1/4th inch slices.
In a Wok add ½ of the neutral oil and heat until it begins to shimmer. sweat the garlic, ginger, scallions until gently softened but not browned. About 1 minute.
Remove the aromatics from the pan and set aside.
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Sauté Seitan
Saute the seitan for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove the seitan from the pan and set aside separate from the aromatics.
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Create Sauce
Add the remaining oil, and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the sugar into the oil and cook until the sugar caramelized, the moment the sugar caramelizes add the soy sauce and sambal oelek.
Cook for 30 seconds or until the sugar has dissolved into the liquids.
Add the orange juice and aromatics and reduce the sauce for 10 minutes or until reduced by ½.
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Combine and Serve
Add the seitan and cook until sticky for about 1-2 more minutes. Be careful not to burn the sauce.
Serve over steamed rice and garnish with the remaining scallions
Summary
Recipe Name
Seitan Orange Chikn
Author Name
Modernist Pantry
Published On
Preparation Time
Total Time
Average Rating
Based on 4 Review(s)
Comments (5)
January 6, 2020 10:11 am
[…] our Seitan Orange “Chicken” recipe a […]
January 13, 2020 5:56 pm
Can you cover and steam the pieces rather than poach in broth? There is another recipe that uses silken tofu with similar ingredients to this recipe (no whole wheat flour though) and the directions call for steaming, never allowing it to touch the water. I have made vegan sausage by steaming and they come out a great texture. Not sure about the simmering in water/broth.
January 14, 2020 10:35 am
Some people prefer steaming and that’s definitely fine if you’re happy with the texture.
January 14, 2020 9:39 am
[…] Link: Seitan Orange Chikn Slam Dunk Donuts Speedy Sicilian Pizza from […]
April 4, 2020 12:50 pm
I made the seitan following this recipe (though I used salted butter instead of coconut oil). For the first time my seitan didn’t turn out as lumps of hard rubber but lovely, light and pleasantly stringy. I also spent a few minutes stretching and tearing the dough after kneading it.
Thank you so much for this excellent recipe!