Hong Kong Style Seitan Bites 港式甜酸齋和咖哩齋

These orange and yellow seitan bites are a signature dish in many vegan restaurants in Hong Kong.  The orange ones are sweet and sour while the bright yellow ones are curry.  Don't think making seitan from scratch is difficult.  You will be surprised how few ingredients are required and how simple the process is.

My dad is not a vegan, but he loves these sweet and sour goodies and he would often buy them to bring home.  However, where I live now it's hard to find pre-cooked seitan with a lack of preservative and colourant.  They are also quite expensive.  So it is really worth it to make my own.  If you are also interested in making your own healthy seitan, you are welcome to try and share the recipe below.

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups Bread Flour

2 cups Water

1 teaspoon Salt

6杯 高筋麵粉
2杯 水
1 茶匙 鹽

DIRECTION 做法：

1. Mix the ingredients together until it forms into a dough and is slightly elastic.  Submerge the dough in water for about 15 minutes.

1．揉合麵糰至筋性後，把麵糰浸於水中若十五分鐘。

2. Wash the dough in water and drain, repeating several times until the water is clear.  The process is similar to doing laundry by hand.  You will find the dough becoming smaller and firmer.  The dense mass that is left is the seitan.

2．用手反覆把麵糰在水中搓擦（像洗衣服般），直至水便淸。期間要不段換水。麵糰會變得越來越實和小，剩下的便是麵筋。

3. Squeeze out the excessive water inside the seitan; the more water that is squeezed out, the firmer the seitan will be.  Allow it to rest for 30 minutes over a strainer and then squeeze out the water again. 

4. Divide the dough into four large portions. Wrap them tightly and refrigerate them for two days.

3．把麵筋搾乾水，越乾麵筋便越實。靜置若三十分鐘再搾水。把其分成四大份，包好靜置於雪櫃內兩天。切麵筋成小塊。

5. Boil a pot of water over medium-high heat.  Add seitan and cook them for about 10 minutes; drain.

6. To make sweet and sour seitan - combine ketchup, sugar, salt, white vinegar, Chinese cooking rice wine, and water with the cooked seitan.

To make curry seitan - combine curry powder, salt, Chinese cooking rice wine, water, and seitan.

7. Boil all the ingredients over medium-low heat until most of the liquid is evaporated and the sauce has thickened.  Serve immediately.

4. 燒熱一鍋水，下麵筋，用中大火煮若10分鐘；撈起。

5. 甜酸齋一一混入茄汁、糖、鹽、白醋、米酒、水
咖哩齋一一混入咖哩粉、鹽、米酒

6. 用中小火煮至汁收乾便成。