Vegan Seitan Laksa

Hopefully you can all pardon the slow rate of posting while I'm in school and working two jobs. It will be worse this semester because my schedule will have an additional 12 hours of unpaid labor added to my work week while I intern per school requirements. (Because working at two college libraries isn't enough professional field experience). Don't let my grousing fool you though! I am very excited to be interning this semester since its a chance to do different things and get experience in a wider context.

My parents have been getting to me with their veganism. While I'm not opposed to it, there are certain foods that I'm struggling to give up entirely. My body feels 100% healthier when I eat a completely plant-based diet and no dairy means I can actually breathe and swallow like a normal human being.

So in my efforts to eat less meat, and since I actually enjoy many meat substitutes, I decided to take a recipe for Chicken Laksa that I found on Myrecipes.com from Sunset magazine and make it vegan!

What is laksa? I hadn't heard of it before coming across a recipe for it on Pinterest. Food p*rn induced hunger cravings lead me to googling it to find out more. A hot and spicy Malaysian soup with noodles and usually some kind of fish component that can be done in a curry style with coconut milk. I was hooked. Reeling in some recipes was fairly easy and I printed off the one from Myrecipes.com since it seemed the most flavorful while still being quick and simple to prepare.

I had a problem though. When I found the recipe, I wasn't looking for vegan, not even vegetarian, variations. The first elimination was obvious: chicken. The second was quick to follow: chicken broth. The third was sneaky: shrimp paste. Three ingredients that all needed substitutions of some kind.

Substitution 1: seitan, pre-cooked and cubed
Substitution 2: vegetable broth/imitation chicken broth
Substitution 3: hoisin sauce

Why these swaps over others?

1. I personally really like seitan and it holds up well in soups and stew without breaking down. While some are turned off by its sponge like nature, I don't find it unappealing. It's not meat. No meat substitutes are going to have the exact same texture and mouth-feel of meat but your preference for meat's texture comes from years of eating meat and not experimenting with plant-based protein sources. Seitan is good because it gives your jaw something to actually chew on. Once you accept that it ISN'T chicken, it will be easier to develop a liking for it. Seitan is a wheat protein so it is NOT gluten free.

2. Vegetable broth is the easiest and most obvious swap for chicken broth but if you can find products like No-Chicken-Broth, you'll be able to mimic the taste to which you've become accustomed.

I also used Lite Coconut Milk to cut down on the calories.

3. Originally, I was just going to eliminate the shrimp paste and not worry about a substitute but last minute I decided it might need something salty. I did another search to find out if there are any easy substitutes for shrimp paste and found a number of recommendations but most involved miso or seaweed, neither of which I had on hand. I don't care for miso soup and I didn't want my laksa to taste anything like that. Someone suggested hoisin, something we always have in the fridge.

Vegan Seitan Laksa

adapted from Sunset magazine

by The Taming of the Roux

Ingredients:

2 tbsps coriander seeds

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

4 cloves

1/4 tsp gr. turmeric

5-8 arbol chiles, stemmed

2 lemongrass stalks*

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb seitan, cubed

1 tsp hoisin sauce

3 large shallots, thinly sliced

1/3 c. water

1 can (13.5oz)  lite coconut milk

1 qt. reduced sodium vegetable broth/no-chicken broth

2 tsps sugar

3 tsps kosher salt

1 cinnamon stick

6 oz mung bean sprouts, rinsed

8 oz wide rice noodles

fresh mint, torn

fresh cilantro, torn

lime wedges

Sambal oelek chili paste**

*I can never find fresh lemongrass so I used a jarred substitute. If you are like me, I used about a tablespoon of the jarred variety and didn't need to remove it from the soup later on.

**Sambal oelek is a chili garlic paste that can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store. It is not to be confused with Sriracha as it comes in a smaller container with a screw-cap. The main ingredient difference between the two is that sriracha has added sugar to make it a little sweeter. 

WARNING: The spicy heat threshold for this soup is very high. If you aren't a fan of spices tingling and heating up your whole mouth, you shouldn't add any sambal oelek at the end and you should used less than 5 arbol chiles.

Instructions:

1. Grind coriander through arbol chiles in a spice blender (or by hand for a great arm and wrist workout). Set aside. Peel the tough outer layers from the fresh lemongrass, if you have it, and mash the core with a heavy tool (like a meat mallet or a frying pan).

2. If you haven't already, slice your shallots and heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots, the reserved spice mixture, and hoisin sauce. Stir to coat shallots and then add 1/3 cup of water to help the shallots saute and combine with the spices. (In the original recipe, the meat is added at this stage. Water adds moisture that is lost by eliminating the chicken.) Stir constantly until softened, roughly 2 minutes.

3. Add coconut milk, broth, sugar, salt, cinnamon stick, and lemongrass. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for 20 minutes. Add the seitan during the last 5 minutes.

4. In a separate pot, boil water and cook the beansprouts for 2 minutes. Remove the sprouts from the boiling water and cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse well.

To serve, divide sprouts and noodles between bowls. Add sambal if you wish. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a sprinkling of cilantro and mint, squeeze fresh lime juice over the top. You'll need chopsticks and a spoon for this!

How can I describe the exotic smell of this hot and fragrant soup? The kitchen smelled like a sweltering and humid country halfway around the world while the cold damp yet unseasonably warm (45 degrees F) New England January day passed by outside the kitchen window. It was nice to feel completely transported by this dish and escape, if only for a day, from the dreary weather at home.

Oh, and since I've never had laksa with meat, I have no memories of it to compare but I would put money on how delicious this recipe is. You won't miss the meat with all the warm and spicy flavors dancing on your tongue while the smell seduces your senses.