Seitan and Tempeh

This past week I made a big batch of seitan. I tried to make tempeh as well, but that failed. :(

Steve likes to eat seitan sandwiches at work, so I make a big batch of seitan every couple of months for him. I use a recipe for Hickory Smoked Veggie Turkey Lunchmeat from VeganDad. I leave out the oil, and I guess it's still good. Steve doesn't complain (I can't eat it). In the recipe, VeganDad makes the seitan into one big roll. I can't do that because my steamer isn't that big (I use my rice cooker with a steaming tray). I divide the seitan into 4 rolls instead of one big one to make it fit better.

I didn't take a picture of the freshly baked seitan because it didn't look that good. I forgot to double-wrap it (in heavy duty foil) and so it busted open. It didn't look appetizing, but that doesn't change the flavor or texture.

After the seitan is finished cooking I let it sit in the fridge overnight to cool down. It's very difficult to slice it thinly while it is hot. You see that picture on the recipe page, and how it's very pretty and thinly sliced? I can never cut it that thin, and I don't know how he does it. I read somewhere to slice the seitan while it's frozen. I tried that and it didn't work for me. Maybe my knives are too dull? I don't know.

Here is my finished product. After I slice it, I put them into zip-lock bags. Each bag will last Steve about 1 week of sandwiches at work (2-3 slices per sandwich). That's 9 full bags, one bag of the nubby ends of the seitan rolls (I usually add that to Steve's soups), and one bag that has enough for 2-3 sandwiches. I put all the bags in the freezer. On a Sunday night I'll grab a bag and stick it in the fridge to thaw overnight. Then Monday morning Steve takes it into work.

This one batch (I didn't even double the recipe) makes enough to last for over 2 months. This is my kind of recipe!

And the tempeh... so sad that didn't turn out. I even took pictures of the whole process to explain it all. I've made it once before a few months ago. I did a couple things different this time, so something I did must have messed up the tempeh. I tried to double the recipe and I tried to ferment it in tupperware containers instead of zip-lock bags. Doing a double batch was definitely a bad idea. It's just too much to work with. And de-hulling all those soybeans was such a pain!! But I've got an idea for an easier way to de-hull which I'll try out next time.