Meat Substitute Made From Wheat Gluten Is A Vegan Hit In New York City

It sounds oxymoronic, but a “vegetarian butcher shop” in Brooklyn, N.Y., is having great success supplying a flour-based meat substitute known as seitan – an alternative to tofu, tempei, etc. – to local home cooks, restaurants and retail stores. Seitan is made from gluten, the main protein of wheat, by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch dissolves. The gluten is then mixed with flavor and texture ingredients, shaped into dough, and cooked for use in vegetarian stir-fry, sandwiches, salads, soups, omelettes etc. The owners of Monk’s Meats – who started their business when they realized that fresh seitan was not available in grocery stores – produce 100 to 150 pounds of seitan daily. It is then hand-delivered to customers.