RV Vegan Cooking: Seitan Char Siu (BBQ Vegan Pork)

Now does this look like authentic meat or what? Very authentic in taste and 100% plant-based

Oh yes, I am obviously enjoying the break from crockpot cooking as we used the BBQ again tonight in an experimentation that went very well. 😉 Tonight’s dinner was a combination of Ben and my cooking. I did all the prep work and Ben BBQ’d it all. I only turned the seitan over on the BBQ and turned the veggies over while Ben got busy working on something with the car, but other than that… he took care of it. 😉

When Ben first married me, I introduced him to a lot of authentic Chinese food. I remember at one point his father came over to visit and he opened up one of our cupboards and pulled out a few items and said to his Dad “In all my life, I never would have thought that I would have something that looks like black wiry hair or seaweed in my pantry!” Those early day introductions were sometimes quite “interesting” dinners for this poor meat-and-potatoes American boy. But 10 years later, he’s as comfortable with many of these items as I am.

One of Ben’s absolute favourite dishes (from our pregan and non-Muslim days) was char siu – roast BBQ pork – often found in dim sum restaurants and hanging up in the window of the restaurant kitchen along with hanging roast duck and chicken. I’ve made char siu in vegan version before, but never on the BBQ which gives it that added authentic flavour and crispiness of the flame roasted parts. This is one dish that Ben gets an actual craving for, and thank goodness I’ve developed a recipe that satisfies his appetite and craving. But, as I mentioned above, tonight was the first time I’ve actually made it on the BBQ, and oh my goodness gracious me… I am in very much love. 🙂

In fact, the smell of the food cooking wafted over some great distances… Just before dishing up and sitting down to dinner, I took Winston for a walk down to the doggie park. On the way back, I hit the area just before the swimming pool and oh my! My olfactory senses were in a heady spin and my stomach began to talk to me quite loudly as I could smell our BBQ’d food all the way down at the swimming pool. I wonder what others in the park who know we are vegan must think when they get hit with the delicious scent of what is cooking on our BBQ…? I wonder if they get jealous! lol

It’s a bit of a haul in preparing the seitan, and quite honestly, I suggest making the seitan ahead of time and then keeping in the fridge overnight, but if you didn’t have a chance to do this, then it’s no problem cooking it earlier in the day and then putting it on the BBQ.

Here is the recipe…

Char Siu BBQ Seitan

2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/2 cup plain white flour
1 packet “Hor” brand Char Siu marinade mix
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP onion powder
1 1/2 cups cold water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 TBSP tomato paste
3 TBSP light soy sauce (or Tamari)

1. Mix dry ingredients together until very well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients until very well combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together until it combines into a glutenous dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Set aside and let it rest for 20-25 minutes. Shape it into a log that resembles a piece of meat.
2. In a crockpot, add 1 1/2 cups cold water, 1 TBSP each onion and garlic powder and 3 TBSP Hoisin sauce. Mix very well. Add the seitan log into the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours until cooked through. At the half-way point (either 1 1/2 or 2 hours) turn over the seitan log and resume cooking.
3. Once seitan is cooked through, remove from crockpot to a large tray. Pour 2 TBSP Hoisin sauce and 1 TBSP sesame seed oil over the seitan and let sit while the BBQ is heating up. Once BBQ is hot, add the seitan and cook on BBQ for 15-20 minutes each side until the outside is cooked to your perfect desire.

Rabbit sitting underneath our next door neighbour Ron’s RV this afternoon. I took this photo while sitting on our sofa.

While the seitan was cooking in the crockpot, I was sitting on the sofa crocheting a blanket – figure it’s good to get blankets and such made so that when we move further north – and when we hit winter time – we’re all set. So I was sitting here crocheting and Ben says simply “rabbit”, I look up and see this rabbit hop under our next door neighbour, Ron’s, RV. Of course, I’ve always got my camera handy, and had to snap a couple of pics. I’m still in awe of this wildlife that is so close and living among it all.

RV Vegan Cooking: Székely Gulyás (Gypsy Goulash) with Polenta

Székely gulyás is pronounced like “seh-key goo-yahsh” and loosely means “gypsy goulash” in Hungarian. Traditionally, you add sauerkraut to the recipe, but I did not do that tonight, but I did add it in the end-note. This is a bit spicy – you can add more heat or you can reduce the heat depending on your taste. Also with the vegetable oil in the “meat” sauce, you can add a bit more if you like – it really does add to the richness of the flavour – and you can also add vegan butter in place of the oil, but melt it first.

Székely Gulyás (Gypsy Goulash) with Polenta

2 cups yellow cornmeal
3 TBSP nutritional yeast
2 TBSP Vegeta vegetable bouillon powder
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP onion powder
5 cups boiling water
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 TBSP vegetable oil

2 cups TVP chunks
2 cups boiling water
1 TBSP Vegeta vegetable bouillon powder
2 tsp chili flakes
2 TBSP paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 TBSP garlic powder
2 TBSP onion powder
1 small can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 can spaghetti sauce
1 large green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks green onions, sliced
5 cloves garlic, diced finely

1. Turn the crockpot on to HIGH heat and mix the yellow cornmeal, nutritional yeast, vegetable bouillon powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper together very well in the crock pot. Add the boiling water and vegetable oil and mix together very well. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
2. While the polenta is cooking, in a large separate mixing bowl, add the TVP, Vegeta vegetable bouillon powder and boiling water. Set aside for 10 – 15 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients except the vegetables. Mix very well together, make sure the tomato paste is well combined and not “clumping”. Then add the vegetables and mix together well.
3. After 1 hour, add the “meat” mixture to the polenta – do not stir but smooth out the top of the mixture over the entire crock pot. Some of the polenta will mix with the “meat” mixture. Cook on HIGH for 3 -4 hours until the polenta is cooked – the bottom part should
be like a thick cake.

Serve plain or with sour cream.

Note: You can also add 1 can of sauerkraut to the “meat” mixture.