Seitan Class

Matthew Woolen is a master pastry chef and has worked in a variety of Seattle restaurants, including gastropub Old Sage, Zhu Dang, and a gluten-free restaurant called Capitol Cider.

Matthew Woolen

These nuggets have everything you want: They’re super crispy and well-seasoned, with a delicate and light interior. And the best part is there’s no mystery about what’s inside them. They’re made from the wheatest of “meats”: seitan!This recipe came about due to a fortuitous accident. As I was fiddling with seitan to figure out how to mimic the flavor and texture of fish, I made a seitan dough that, once cooked, had a texture that was really close to chicken nuggets. I altered the seasoning a bit, adding miso, seasoned salt, and nutritional yeast for umami and to give it a more chicken-y flavor, steamed the dough, portioned it into little rectangles, and breaded and fried them. They’re every bit as satisfying as a good chicken nuggets and way better than a lot of the nuggets made with (actual? Who knows!) chicken meat at the store.Think of this as a base recipe. You can take the seasoning in any direction you’d like. If you don’t want to use sazón, you could use some of our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/creole-spice-blend">seasoning</a> or our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/umami-mushroom-bomb-that-you-can-drop-on-anything">powder</a>. If you do substitute something else for the seasoned salt, just keep in mind that you need to add at least 5 g of salt to the mixture. (You can even just sub 5 g of salt for the seasoned salt and make the recipe as written.)The key to creating the correct texture with the seitan is the tofu, which lightens up what would otherwise be a chewy and relatively dense mass of seasoned wheat protein. Any kind of tofu except silken will work in a pinch, but for the best results, you’ll want to stick with firm tofu.They’re crispy, light, and delicious—everything you want out of a fried nugget. Serve with a creamy coleslaw and a few of your favorite condiments.

Crispy Seitan Nuggets