Mojito Seitan

In planning our meals this week, I pulled out some of my favorite cookbooks and searched for recipes that would make good after-work dinners. One that jumped out was this Mojito Seitan, which was apparently inspired by the cookbook authors' shared desire to have mojitos more often. The dish can be made with pork or seitan (a wheat gluten faux meat product), but we chose the vegetarian version. You can also make it with cilantro or mint, and we chose cilantro. Next time, we're going to try the mint, to see how different it tastes.

The flavors of this recipe are really delicious together. The lime really stands out, but doesn't overpower everything else. The hot sauce (I used Sriracha) gives it a little kick, which some people might find too strong. I think we're going to make this for a vegan friend soon who doesn't deal well with spicy food, so we'll probably either tone down or omit the hot sauce for her. Maybe the mint will help provide the necessary cooling counterpoint though. We'll see!

This was our first time cooking with seitan, and my fiance said he likes it better than any of the other vegetarian proteins (tofu, tempeh, etc). I have to agree.

Mojito Seitan

Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tspn grated lime zest
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbspn hot sauce
2 Tbspn honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or mint

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, then add:
1 lb seitan or pork

Marinate for at least 20 minutes, or overnight if you have time.

Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, any color, thinly sliced
1/4 cup light rum
Sprigs of cilantro or mint
Lime wedges

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute onion and peppers over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Add seitan, reserving the marinade for use later. Stir fry until seitan is cooked through, another 3-4 minutes. Remove seitan, onion and pepper to a plate or bowl.

Add reserved marinade to the skillet. Turn the hetat up to high, and when the mixture starts to bubble, stir in the rum. The sauce wil begin to thicken. When it reduces to the consistency of a glaze, return the seitan, onion, and peppers to the pan to coat. Stir a few seconds just to combine.

Serve over rice, garnished with sprigs of fresh cilantro and a lime wedge.



(from Cheap & Easy: A Cookbook for Girls on the Go.)