The Quickest & Easiest Seitan Recipe!! (Vegan Chicken!)
Just 20 minutes to make, and only 7 ingredients, this is by far the quickest and easiest seitan recipe ever!! This vegan chicken alternative is simple to whip up and perfect to add to any meal. Crispy crunchy on the outside, and tender chewy in the middle. The perfect meaty texture to amp up any vegan meal! If you are new to making seitan this is the perfect recipe for beginners to try.
2 tablespoons light oil for frying ((such as canola or vegetable))
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (for garnish)
1 small handful chopped green onions or chopped chives (for garnish)
Categories
Main Course
Cuisine
Chinese
Steps
Add about an inch of water to a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a light boil.
In the meantime, whisk together the vital wheat gluten, flour, vegetable broth powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in the water and mix to form a ball of dough. Lightly grease the steamer basket, then tear off bite-sized pieces of the seitan dough and place them in a single layer in the steamer basket. Cover, and steam the seitan for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, in a small bowl or a measuring glass, mix together the Thai sweet chili sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside. (See notes for other sauce options).
When the seitan is done steaming, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or non-stick pan. Use tongs to remove the seitan bites from the steamer basket, and place them into the hot oil in the pan. Be careful as it may splatter. Cook the seitan bites a few minutes per side until they are golden brown and crispy.
Remove from the heat and add the sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired and serve hot.* Learn my secret tricks to making perfect seitan in my free masterclass. Click here to learn more and register.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving of seitan fried in oil, but without sauce (recipe makes 4 servings)
Calories: 115 kcal
Carbohydrates: 10 g
Protein: 18 g
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.1 mg
Sodium: 284 mg
Sugar: 0.1 g
Unsaturated Fat: 0.3 g
Reviews
Cathy H on 2026-06-11 (5 stars): Okay, I think I’ve watched your video on this recipe 10 times, but I finally mustered up the courage to give this a go. Wow, Sam…this is exactly as you said it would be - fast, easy, and crispy delicious! I’m honestly shocked at how simple this is and how terrific the results are. I didn’t have veg broth powder so I used veg chicken broth base powder instead, and it was perfect. I’m interested in trying the air fryer, but I agree…the crispy crunch from frying lightly in oil would be tough to best! Next up, I’m going to try these with the sauce from your tofu orange chicken. Thank you!!
Buzz on 2026-06-11 (5 stars): I pretty much abused this...
Didn't have flour, so used wholemeal bread flour.
Vital Wheat Gluten was a year out of date (but no weevils!).
Didn't have a steamer, so I placed it in the dog's bowl on three rolled-up pieces of aluminium foil to act as legs.
The dog's bowl was so small that all the pieces became a whole again, so I had to re-tear them.
Didn't have any of those things for the sauce, so made up 25g of Tamari, 1/2 tsp of ginger, 1/2 tsp of garlic granules, and 1/2 tsp of onion granules.
Fried all the pieces in olive oil then tipped in the sauce at the end and tossed.
Result...
Absolutely fantastic. I was eating them when I was supposed to be putting them in a container! Wife and I will eat them with rice tomorrow. We are going to make LOTS of these!
Thanks very much.
Ruby on 2026-06-08 (5 stars): ok so I had to improvise a bit... indtarted making it and realised that I didnt have the vegetable broth powder, onion or garlic powder... nor the right flour 🤣 BUT!! I did have bread flour, ginger powder, and a vegetable stock cube. It still worked! Texture was a little tougher perhaps because of the different flour. But still so good. will definitely make this again, thanks!
Jodi on 2026-06-07 (5 stars): Made this recipe and added some kitchen bonnet for darkening. It was delish and so easy!
Christine on 2026-06-07 (5 stars): My first time making seitan but not my first time eating it. This lacked a bit of taste but had all the texture! Will try again. And tweek the recipe a bit. Thanks for sharing!!! ❤️
Tanya on 2026-06-05 (4 stars): Am I the only one struggling with the dough quantities? I've tried this twice now and need about half the liquid? Re-reading and checking my measuring cups, and driving myself crazy! Once I adjust quantities, it's a real hit :)
