Crispy Orange Seitan (Recipe #41)

Once in a while, I get a craving for a certain type of food. This week I was craving chinese food. I came across this recipe in the Vegan for Everybody cookbook and knew I was going to be making it. This recipe for crispy orange seitan does an incredible job of making a vegan version of orange chicken! I felt like I was eating orange chicken from Chinese takeout!

I have had seitan before, but I have never cooked it so this was a great experience! Setian proved to be the perfect protein for the dish. I dunked the seitan in coconut milk. Then, I tossed the pieces into a cornstarch and cornmeal batter. I fried these in some oil on the stove until they were crispy and then I drained them for a minute on a paper towel. Finally, I tossed these incredible crispy pieces into the sauce and it was ready to be served!

The sauce was very easy to make and it turned out delicious! The orange sauce was composed of vegetable broth, brown sugar, white vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, orange zest, orange juice, ginger, and cayenne. I brought everything to a bowl. I stirred in a mixture of cornstarch and water. I let it simmer for a minute or two to thicken. When I put the seitan pieces in the sauce, I also put two strips of orange peel in the sauce.

I made broccoli on the side and called it a day. I should have made rice as well, but Jacob and I ate a bunch of rice already this week so I didn’t want to add more of it. I think next time I will plan to make rice. 

This dish was really amazon! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I cannot wait to make it again. I felt like I was eating Chinese takeout and there is no better feeling when you have been craving takeout for days! I think what really impressed me was Jacob’s reaction. He loved the dish! He complimented it many times and was surprised how meat like the texture was for these seitan pieces. I think this checked all the boxes for him to replicate Chinese chicken.

Taste: 10/10!!

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I would love to try this seitan with a spicy sauce like general tso sauce!