Flavorful Vegan Chicken Teriyaki Seitan

💚Why you will love this recipe

• Utterly delicious and addictive - Salty, umami with a hint of sweetness, this vegan teriyaki chicken taste as good as, if not better than restaurant ones! It is family-friendly and meat-eater approved.
• Super quick to fix - Everything is ready under 15 minutes (assuming you had pre-made seitan or using store-bought ones), and is perfect for a quick dinner.
• Stores well and great for meal prep - Teriyaki seitan will last in the fridge for 5 days, and freeze well. Plus, the ingredients can be easily multiplied to make a bigger batch.
• Insanely high in protein - Per serving contains a whopping 31g of protein!

📃Notes/substitutions

• Seitan - You can either make your own seitan chicken, or use store-bought ones. I prefer making it on my own as they are cheaper and fresher!
• Soy sauce - You can use tamari in place. Use gluten-free or low sodium ones, if desired.
• Maple syrup - Feel free to substitute it with other liquid sweeteners like agave syrup or honey, if not vegan.
• Mirin - Sake is the next best substitute. You can even use dry sherry or rice vinegar, but might have to increase amount of maple syrup use to counteract the sourness.
• Oil-free - Cook seitan chunks on a good non-stick pan without oil, and use ¼ cup broth or water to saute ginger and garlic. Omit sesame oil in sauce.

🔪How to make

Make your sauce by combining all ingredients needed. Mix well.

Heat up ½ a tablespoon of neutral tasting oil in a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Place coated seitan in one layer and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Set aside.

In the same pan, add in another ½ tablespoon of oil. Saute garlic and ginger for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.

Add in sauce along with the pan-fried seitan. Toss until everything is well-mixed. Cooked until sauce thickens before removing from heat.

Serve vegan teriyaki chicken with some steamed rice and enjoy!

✔Helpful tips

• Do not skip coating your seitan in cornstarch! This step is essential in helping seitan to develop a crispy outer crust.
• Use a large enough pan. This ensure that every seitan chunks are perfectly seared.
• The teriyaki sauce is on the saltier side, so feel free to use a low sodium soy sauce or replace part of it with water if you want yours to be lower in sodium.
• Adjust sauce accordingly. Play around with the ratio of ingredients used to suit your own taste. I also encourage you to give it a taste at the end and add more seasonings, if needed.
• You can also use store-bought teriyaki sauce for a quicker version. You will need around 3-4 tablespoons, or to taste.

✨Variations/add-ins

Not a fan of seitan? You can substitute with some cubed extra-firm tofu that has been drained and pressed instead. Like with seitan, coat tofu in cornstarch and pan-fry them for 2-3 minutes on each sides.

Alternatively, you can use a package of store-bought vegan chicken strips instead.

You can also add-in some steamed veggies or frozen veggies mix to this teriyaki seitan. You might have to double the ingredients for sauce.

For a heartier meal, toss in some cooked noodles of choice like ramen, udon or soba. Do double the recipe for sauce to make sure that everything is coated.

If you like spicy foods, you can add in a teaspoon or so of chili flakes or red pepper flakes.

🍚How to serve

The simplest and best way to serve this vegan teriyaki chicken is with some freshly steamed rice alongside some steamed veggies. Simple yet so good!

You can also serve teriyaki seitan alongside some chopped salad for a filling yet light meal.

You can even use it as a filling for wraps or sandwiches, along with some raw veggies and condiments of choice like ketchup, mayo or bbq sauce. Or, stuff them in baguette to make a vegan version of Subway's chicken teriyaki sub!

If you are planning to go all out, serve teriyaki seitan alongside other Asian dishes like tofu chop suey, orange tofu chicken, kung pao chickpeas and some Chinese tofu fried rice.

❄Storing leftovers

• Refrigerating - Store teriyaki seitan in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
• Freezing - Portion it out accordingly in airtight containers and they can be frozen for 3 months.
• Reheating - For the frozen ones, let it thaw in the fridge overnight or on countertop for a few hours. Heat it up in a pan and add splash of water to thin, if needed. Or, you can simply thaw it using your microwave's "defrost" setting, then heat it on high for 30-60 seconds.

🍽More easy vegan Asian recipes

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