Bryanna's "Beefy Seitan" = Chicken-Fried Steak

Friday Night, what to make for dinner... I always debate this on the drive home from work.
It's the one night of the week my Sprouts and I are all home at dinner time - together! No basketball or choir practice, no snowboarding, no youth group, no tutoring, no working late. It's the one night I know we'll actually sit down at the table, so I like it to be, at least a little bit special...

So I decided to use the seitan I'd made from Bryanna Clark Grogan's "Beefy Seitan" Recipe a couple weeks ago, (and frozen it for future use*).

*(I'm weird about seitan that way, once I've gone to all the work to make it, I'm usually tired of looking at the stuff and not interested in eating it.)

I had been thinking about making a Brocolli-Beef stir-fry thingy, but the Sprouts had other ideas: baked potatoes and "chik" nuggets" were their request. So, no big deal, stir-fry is just as good another day and I'm usually willing to let them make menu suggestions.
Alas, no nuggets to be found in the freezer, and the seitan was already defrosted, so I decided to try my hand at turning 'beefy' seitan into good ol' American 'chicken-fried' steak.

(Not being a meat eater, I had never understood why beef was called "chicken" anything... made no sense. But I guess it's the breading, pan frying and gravy that make it similar to fried chicken? I don't know. Doesn't matter really, this may not be anything close but that's what it makes me think of... Heck, call it whatever you want, I figure anything fried and covered in gravy should be called heaven on a plate :)

"Chicken-Fried-Style" Beefy Seitan Nuggets

• 1/2 recipe "Beefy Seitan", already cooked, cooled and cut into nugget-size pieces, about 24 pcs. or so (my "steaks" always turn out pretty big so I cut them apart into 3 or 4 pieces each)
• 1/4 cup soymilk
• 2 Tb. vegenaise (or blended silken tofu)
• 1/2 cup fine, dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 Tb. nutritional yeast
• 2 Tb. cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp. each: sage, salt, onion powder, black pepper

Cut seitan into small pieces. Pat dry. Whisk soymilk and vegenaise (or blended silken tofu) together. Set aside. Mix dry ingredients in another bowl.

Heat 1/2 inch oil in skillet. (I like coconut oil here, or peanut oil is good too). Dip seitan in soymilk mixture and then roll in crumbs. Place carefully in hot skillet and fry on medium heat until golden and crunchy - 3 - 4 minutes. Turn carefully and fry other side. Remove to paper towel to drain, keep warm in oven if doing two batches. Continue until all "nuggets" are done.

Here's the gravy I did tonight. Maybe not my favorite recipe, but I'll post it, just the same 'cause it's quick and easy. This was on a card they hand out at the co-op near the bulk bins, so I can't really give anyone credit.

Un-Chik Gravy

• 2 tablespoons soy margarine
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or sage
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• dash salt, to taste
• dash of pepper
• 2 cups vegetarian 'chicken' broth
• OR: 1 vegetarian bouillon cube dissolved in 2 cups boiling water
• OR: 1 cup broth and 1 cup soymilk for a creamy gravy.

Melt the soy margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and let it bubble a moment. Add nutritional yeast, and seasonings, stirring quickly with a whisk.
Add the broth, (and/or soymilk if you want it creamy) stirring until blended. Continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes, or until thick, adjust seasonings to your taste.