Stir fried seitan with mixed vegetables 麵筋炒雜菜

I made seitan few days ago, I shallow fried and braised half the quantity, the remaining (about 300g) I boiled for about 30 minutes till cooked through. After cooling, I pat dry it and left in the fridge to use later. Raw seitan can also be steamed for about the same time till cooked through.

Yesterday I stir fry the boiled seitan with mixed vegetables. It was a yummy.


For the recipe of the stir fry

First prepare the seitan

about 300g cooked seitan
1.5 tbsp light soy
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Cut the seitan into small cubes and marinate with soy, salt and pepper for 15 - 20 minutes. The seitan is quite tasteless, be generous with the added seasonings.

This boiled or steamed seitan feels like a lump of soft rubber, similar to Chinese fish paste cake but softer and chewier. Here is how it looks like with the marinade;


Now prepare the vegetables and other ingredients

2 - 3 fat cloves garlic, chopped
2 small or 1 medium large carrot, cut into cubes
2 sticks of celery, cut into cubes
about 200 -250g any favourite green beans, (I used stringless flat beans), cut into small pieces
about 1 handful of preserved/salted radish (chai bo) 菜脯, rinsed and cut into small pieces
about 1 cup of roasted peanuts (I dry roasted some raw peanuts), you can use bought ready to eat roasted & salted peanuts
2 - 3 eggs, beaten (if you are cooking for vegans, can leave eggs out)

some oyster sauce (vegetarian style or original)
pinch of pepper
some cooking oil

For the preserved radish this is the one I always buy and like. I once bought a different brand it was tough like old boots.



Ingredients prepared ready to cook



Method:

1. Heat about 1 - 1.5 tbsp of oil till smoking hot, pour in the egg. The egg will puff quickly. Stir and scramble into small pieces. Fry till egg pieces are dry and slightly brown. Remove for later use.
   
2. Put more oil into wok/pan, about 2 tbsp and add in the marinated seitan, avoid the marinated juice. Stir fry till the water/marinated juice has all evaporated and seitan pieces are lightly browned.
   
3. Add garlic continue stirring.
4. Then add in preserved radish and carrot. Stirring for a while.
5. Then add in celery and green bean. keep stirring without adding any water.
6. When vegetables are cooked but still very crunchy. It's almost ready.
7. Seasoned with enough oyster sauce (about 1.5 - 2 tbsp) and pinch of ground pepper.
   
8. Stir in scrambled egg.
9. Finally add most of the peanuts, plate up and sprinkle the rest of peanuts on top.

This is how the dish looks like.


I love to serve this stir fry with plain rice congee (rice soup). Perfect match. You can also serve it with rice. This stir fry has so many ingredients with different flavours and textures, the egg is soft, the seitan is soft and chewy, and the vegetables and peanuts are all very crunchy. Every bite can taste different, all washed down with plenty of plain rice congee. The rice congee though not flavoured it has a delicate fragrance from the jasmine rice. The combo was heaven.


To make the rice congee, boil 1 cup of jasmine rice with about 8 - 9 cups of water till the texture looks like pouring porridge. I used the pressure cooker took about 20 minutes, if not can take about 1 hour.


This suggested quantity of mixed vegetables and rice soup will feed 4.


* If you don't have seitan, you can sub it with very firm and marinated tofu, something like Chinese dou gan 豆干 (super firm tofu, usually seasoned with salt and five spice, or some with chilli)