Seitans are not the same.

If you’ve followed me for a while you will have come across several of my seitan recipes.
Seitan is gluten, the protein in wheat. It’s been around for centuries and was invented by Buddhist monks in Japan and China. It’s delicious, especially if sauteed in oil and spices until it’s crispy and browned on the outside. It’s also very high in protein which of course is great for vegetarians.

*Good seitan should look like this, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It takes only a few minutes to create in a pan with spices and oil.*

As a general rule, I won’t write bad reviews. As a blogger and a struggling artist and writer, I understand how much every single review means, and I rather refrain from giving bad reviews.
That said, when it comes to my own recipes, I do need to tell you that there are a whole lot of new brands who make seitan that aren’t good. At all. In fact, some taste and feel like rubber or plastic. Really, I’m not kidding. I’m not sure why someone would make a product like that, but they have.
And if you are going to make one of my seitan dishes, I’d like you to be aware of the difference a brand makes. I will not mention names, but I will however tell you which ones are good and then you can do the math yourself and figure out which ones not to get.
Up until very recently, my seitan of choice has been the West Soy brand. Their seitan is perfect, moist, chewy, absorbs spices nicely, and crisps to perfection. But for some reason, most of the stores I shop at have stopped carrying it. It’s upsetting to say the least because my Indian Fusion with Seitan Mango and Vegan Feta, or Seitan in Pink Coconut Sauce with Curried Cashew Nuts will not come out the same with bad seitan.

*This is one of the good brands, very hard to find nowadays though.*

I hunted for months for an alternative to the West Soy Brand and finally found it at Wegmans, they made their own seitan brand and it’s just as good as West Soy’s. Thank you, Wegmans, you’ve saved the day.