How to Make Vegan Char Siu

The Ingredients

There are two main components to making vegan char siu: the seitan which is the 'pork' portion and the marinade that gives it the classic Chinese BBQ flavour.

For the seitan:

Vital wheat gluten: the main ingredient to making mock meats.
Baking powder: the secret ingredient that helps seitan not get rubbery and too dense!
Soft or medium firm tofu: another ingredient that helps with moisture and prevents it from drying out when baked or panfried.
Soy sauce & salt: for a boost of flavour¾ cup vital wheat (90g)
Cold water: I've found it easier to use cold water to bring the dough together.

For the Marinade:

Garlic
Fermented tofu (Fu): can be substituted with any fermented bean paste such as miso or doubanjiang.
Molasses
Chinese five spice
White pepper: or black pepper
Mushroom sauce: can also substitute with hoisin sauce (note it will be a touch sweeter).
Chinese shaozing wine
Soy sauce
Maple syrup: adjust the amount depending on how sweet you like it.

Everyone has a flavour preference so adjust the amount to taste! You can also add more flavour with things like ginger, scallions, smoked paprika, sesame oil, etc.

The Directions

Make the seitan: blend the tofu with water. Add the vital wheat gluten, baking powder and salt to a bowl and mix. Then pour in the tofu water mixture and soy sauce while mixing with a fork or chopsticks. Once it begins to clump, knead with your hands for a few minutes (about 3 minutes). Squeeze the gluten ball to help remove air bubbles.
Rest: Stretch and shape the gluten into a rectangle. Place in a container covered and let it rest for 45 minutes.
Simmer: Add the marinade ingredients to a pot except the garlic (+ ginger and scallions if using). Reserve 3 tablespoon of this marinade and set aside. Add the garlic (+ginger and scallions if using) and water to the pot. Turn on the heat to high and once it comes to a boil, reduce to medium low. Once it begins to simmer, carefully drop in the seitan and simmer for 25-30 minutes. The seitan will expand, this is normal! It will shrink once you remove it from the water. Do not let the marinade ever boil or the seitan will be spongy.
Final touches: Remove the seitan from the marinade, let it rest on a cutting board until cool enough to handle. The seitan should shrink and feel firm to the touch. Slice it in half and then brush with oil, maple syrup and reserved marinade. From here, you can either bake or pan fry it.
Extra sauce (optional): With the remaining marinade in the pot, you can reduce it over medium high heat for about 10 minutes or until thick and saucy. Drizzle it over the char siu when ready to serve.

More delicious vegan Chinese recipes to try:

If you recreate this Vegan Char Siu recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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