In a message dated 97-07-09 06:22:39 EDT, you write:
<< I recently bought some sietan & made it last night for the 1st time
(just recently getting more into a vegetarian way of life).
My problem is, that I couldn't get it to taste like anything, and I can
barely stand to eat it!
I sauteed it with fresh garlic, onions, & green peppers >>
i find seitan is a good substitute for beef in a stew or stewlike saute. i
usually slice it up or cube it so it has lots of surfaces to absorb flavor.
i often cook it with mushrooms. the other night i sauteed seitan with
garlic, mushrooms, onions, hot peppers and a generous dash of a rich, full
bodied red wine (i used some good french table wine, made from syrah grapes
but a burgundy or carbenet would be fine).
i quartered the mushrooms and precooked them in the microwave with a little
soy sauce and then used the expressed mushroom/soy liquid as an additional
cooking liquid in the saute. i let the whole thing cook about 10 minutes or
so (till the sauce thickened a bit) and served it on brown rice. i may have
added a little soy sauce to round out the flavor. a little miso can also be
nice.
i haven't had a problem with seitan absorbing flavors. i think it needs some
liquid (even its marinade can be used) to help it along. i also use it in
curry. it isn't quite meat but does remind me a bit of sweet breads.
mcdougall's cookbook has a recipe for seitan bourgingon which is along the
lines of my saute but cooks longer and finishes with a cornstarch thickener.
------------------------------