I picked up a couple bags of dried seitan/gluten the last time I was at the Asian grocery. Of course, I could just use them as a meat substitute the next time I'm making soup or curry or something, but I thought it'd be nice to find some seitan-specific recipes. And I found a whole treasure trove of delicious-looking dishes! But they all use home-made/fresh seitan, not the dried stuff. This recipe for barbecue "ribs" looked so good that I couldn't resist giving it a try. It's lovely with a bit of grilled corn and/or creamed kale.

Barbecue Seitan Ribs with Sticky Tamarind Sauce

Slightly adapted from Sunny Side Hanne

Ingredients

Seitan

• 1/4 c. tahini or peanut butter
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke
• 2 tsp. sweet or smoked paprika
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 c. chickpea flour
• 1 1/2 c. hot vegetable broth¹
• 1 1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. gluten flour

Sticky Tamarind Sauce

• 1 Tbsp. tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 c. hoisin sauce
• 1/4 c. sambal olek (or chili sauce of your choice)
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. mirin
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

Directions

Seitan

1. Combine tahini/peanut butter, liquid smoke, paprika, tomato paste, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, and chickpea flour and mix well.
2. Pour in hot broth and stir to form a homogeneous mixture.
3. Add gluten flour and stir to combine.
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-6 minutes. You may need to add an extra Tbsp. or two of gluten, but be conservative; don't add too much.
5. Lightly oil a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and place the seitan on it.
6. Press the seitan into a large flat slab.
7. Score the seitan to make it easier to separate into "ribs" once cooked.
8. Fold the foil over and seal to form a tight packet.
9. Grill over indirect heat for 30 minutes. (Aim for a grill temperature of 180°C/350°F.)
10. Meanwhile, prepare the barbecue sauce. (See below for instructions.)
11. Open the packet and brush the ribs with barbecue sauce. Flip them over and coat the other side with sauce as well.
12. Cook for another 15 minutes being sure to keep the ribs over indirect heat!
13. Serve with coleslaw, grilled corn, fries, or other side(s) of your choice.

Sticky Tamarind Sauce

1. Combine all sauce ingredients and mix well.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

NB: The original recipe billed these as "BBQ Vegan Ribs", but I'm not confident in calling the recipe vegan as written. I think it would be appropriate for a "strict vegetarian" (ie. someone who doesn't directly eat animal products, but doesn't necessarily avoid animal products elsewhere), but not necessarily a vegan. Hoisin sauce and mirin both contain sugar which often uses bone char in its production. As such, unless you can find sauces that use some sort of vegan sweetener, this recipe wouldn't actually be vegan, but it's still a great egg-and-dairy-free vegetarian offering!

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¹ I used a 2:1 mix of vegetable broth and mushroom stock for mine. ^Back