Vietnamese Lemongrass Seitan Crispy Rice
This lemongrass recipe is in collaboration with Tiff of @tifflovestofu and her latest newsletter Tiff’s Table! There are so many great flavors and textures in this recipe and it’s also easily customizable. Plus, it’s great for meal-prep!The homemade seitan is cooked with an aromatic blend of shallots, garlic, and lemongrass before being reduced in a sweet & savory sauce. The lemongrass seitan is served on a bed of crispy rice and paired with a Vietnamese sauce/dressing, pickled carrot, crunchy cucumber, tomato, and cilantro.
Ingredients
SEITAN
WET
- 1/2 cup warm vegetable broth or water
- 1/2-1 tbsp white miso paste (see notes)
DRY
- 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten , 100 g
- 2 tbsp chickpea flour , 20 g
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tbsp mushroom bouillon powder optional, see notes
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper or black pepper
SAUCE
- 2-3 tbsp soy sauce or to taste
- 1-2 tbsp vegan fish sauce to taste
- 1-2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- 1/2 to 1 tbsp sugar adjust to desired sweetness
- 3-4 tbsp maple syrup adjust to desired sweetness
- 1 tbsp neutral oil I used avocado oil
- 2-3 tbsp room temperature water
CRISPY RICE
- Neutral cooking oil
- 1-2 cups cooked and cooled medium grain rice jasmine rice works great
FOR STIR-FRYING
- 1 tbsp neutral cooking oil
- 1 shallot finely minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp minced lemongrass I used frozen
TIFF'S VEGAN NUOC CHAM
- 2 tbsp vegan fish sauce (sub for light soy sauce or Yondu)
- 1 tbsp Chili Garlic Sauce (Huy Fong or Lee Kum Kee)
- 2 tbsp sugar , adjust to taste
- 1 lime , juiced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup coconut water
- 1 bird’s eye chili pepper roughly chopped (optional for heat)
- Salt to taste
FOR SERVING
- Sliced cucumber and tomatoes
- Pickled carrots/radish homemade recipe here
- Fresh cilantro and other herbs like mint
- Vegan Nuoc cham or Vietnamese sauce/dressing
- Ginger scallion sauce homemade recipe here
- Fried shallots
Instructions
PREPARING THE SEITAN + SAUCE
- Dilute the miso paste in warm water/veg broth.
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour the broth mixture and mix well until there are no signs of dry flour.
- Transfer the mixture on a flat surface. Knead for 3-4 minutes or until the seitan is bouncy — you can poke it with your finger and it should go back to its original state at once. Cover the seitan.
- Leave the seitan to rest for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Mix everything together in a small bowl and adjust to desired taste.
- Once the seitan has rested, transfer the seitan on a sheet of foil, flatten the seitan or shape it depending on what you like. Wrap the seitan on the foil.
- Steam the seitan for 15-20 mins. After steaming, carefully unwrap the seitan and slice into thin 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick pieces.
CRISPY RICE
- Heat an 8-inch non stick pan over medium heat. Spray or add some neutral oil to lightly coat the surface.
- Once hot, add the rice. Using a spatula, press down on the rice to spread across the pan.
- Leave to cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until lightly brown. Carefully flip over and repeat for the other side.
LEMONGRASS SEITAN
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat.
- Add oil. Once hot, add the minced shallot, garlic, and lemongrass. Stir-fry for 1 minute until aromatic. Pour the sauce and allow to come to a gentle simmer.
- Add the sliced seitan and leave to simmer in the sauce for 5-6 minutes until the sauce is absorbed and turns into a thin glaze consistency.
TIFF'S NUOC CHAM
- Mix everything together. Feel free to adjust to your desired taste.
TO SERVE
- Place the crispy rice on a plate or large bowl.
- Add the seitan then serve with sliced cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro, pickled carrot/radish, the vegan nuoc cham or Vietnamese sauce/dressing. Top with ginger scallion sauce and fried shallots, if desired.
- To enjoy, pour a generous amount of the sauce then break apart a small portion of the rice to enjoy with the other components.
Notes
MUSHROOM POWDER
- You can opt to skip the mushroom powder. Do note that this adds significant flavor so I would recommend to use vegetable broth instead of water for the wet mixture.
MISO PASTE/WATER
- If using water, you can use 1 tbsp miso paste. If already using seasoned vegetable broth you can use 1/2 tbsp miso paste.
TIFF’S NUOC CHAM
- This nuoc cham is on the lighter side since the seitan is already really tasty. :)
SEITAN
- For meal prep, you will need to reheat the leftover seitan to soften it since it does become chewier once cooled.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Calories: 353kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 957mg | Potassium: 307mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 12IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 3mg
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