All it takes is flour, water, and a whole lot of patience.
I’m a vegetarian who’s tried a lot of chicken substitutes, both store-bought and homemade, so I decided to see if this recipe was as easy as it looked.
First, I mixed together two cups of flour and one cup of water. While kneading, I added a little more water because it was pretty dry. I kept kneading until it looked like this.
BuzzFeed /Kristen Harris
Yes, it felt as disgusting as it looks.
Then, it was nap time for the flour blob. I let it rest for an hour.
BuzzFeed / Kristen Harris
So far, it was similar to making bread, except there was no yeast.
Next came the part I was truly dreading — time to knead the dough while rinsing it.
BuzzFeed / Kristen Harris
It’s like the evil twin version of all those satisfying slime videos on Instagram.
After the now-wet blob rested for another hour, I pulled it back out to twist and knot it. I twisted it for about five minutes. It felt like making really slimy, gross balloon animals. I also added vegan chicken-less seasoning salt from Trader Joe’s. Then, I fried it until it was brown on both sides (about two minutes her side).
BuzzFeed / Kristen Harris
Pro tip: you should probably twist it more than you think you should, since that’s what gives it the “meaty” texture. You should probably cook it slightly longer than I did, too.
Then, I drained the oil, added veggie stock, and let it simmer on low for 45 minutes. When it was done, it looked like this.
BuzzFeed / Kristen Harris
Fresh out of the pan, it was very…rubbery. I wasn’t able to shred it like in the original TikTok, but I think that’s because I didn’t twist the dough enough.
I decided to try it plain so I could get the ~full experience~. After the first bite, I wasn’t too impressed, so I decided to compare it to a few other vegan chicken alternatives I conveniently had on hand.
BuzzFeed / Kristen Harris
It was more chicken-like than the baked cauliflower or the chickpea nuggets (based on my memory of chicken…it’s been a few years). However, the texture was more similar to the frozen “chicken” patty than the one from my favorite vegan restaurant.
I tasted them all, then ranked them to get a better idea of how the homemade seitan measured up.
BuzzFeed / Kristen Harris
Overall, this TikTok seitan recipe is something I might try again on a day where I have a lot of free time. It takes too long to realistically be a go-to recipe, but I would like to keep trying and learn how to make it taste better.
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Source: Thanks https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristenharris1/tiktok-vegan-flour-chicken
