I live in a large town in Illinois, and we are lucky to have an abundance of local stores that sell chickpeas. Most of the time I wonder why I lived so much of my life without the joys of baked chickpeas and I spend an exorbitant amount of my free time planning what I’m going to do with my next batch of chickpeas, because I buy them in 5 pound bags and always am looking for new recipes.
I enjoy seitan making as much as I enjoy chickpeas. If you’ve followed my Instagram lately, you have seen how much seitan I’ve been experimenting with. This recipe was the result of running out of tofu and not being able to leave the house with two small children. The chickpeas add lysine (and lots of flavor) to the seitan and the method used to knead the seitan gives it a great shredded texture. I add a bit of apple cider vinegar to the recipe to cancel out the strong gluten flavor, but feel free to omit if you don’t have it.
This recipe is pretty dependent on an Instant Pot for similar results. If you have a conventional steamer, you may possibly be able to achieve a similar result if you are able to maintain the steam for 2 hours. If not, try making several smaller packets and steaming for an hour. Edit: since the writing of this recipe, many people have tested different cooking methods and steaming on the stove top or in a stove top pressure cooker works well!
Most food processors come with a dough hook, it’s just a plastic thingamabob that kneads instead of chops. If you don’t have one, or can’t find it, you should be able to get a similar texture with your metal blade. Just be sure to process long enough that it comes together and turns stringy and taffy like. You can also use a Kitchen Aid with a dough hook for 15 minutes or longer.
I prefer to weigh the ingredients in this recipe, as I think it yields the most consistent results, but I have included volume measurements for most of the ingredients if you don’t have a kitchen scale.
For those of you who prefer recipe videos, check out this one from Mary’s Test Kitchen!
If you make this recipe, please use the tag #chickwheat on Instagram or public Facebook posts! I’d love to see your creations!!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups/300g cooked chickpeas (cold, don’t use warm)
- 1 cup/225 ml aquafaba (vegetable broth or water can be substituted)
- 2 tbsp/30 ml vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp/35g white miso paste*
- 1.5 tsp/10g salt**
- 1 tbsp/12g onion powder
- 2 tsp/6g garlic powder
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 3/4 cup/255g vital wheat gluten
Directions:
- Measure all ingredients up to the vinegar.
- Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Weigh out vital wheat gluten while chickpea mixture is blending.
- Combine vital wheat gluten and chickpea mixture in a large bowl. Let rest about 15 minutes to allow gluten to absorb the moisture.
- Separate dough into 2 parts. Fit a food processor with a dough hook (see note above), blend each portion until the dough is warm, stretchy, smooth, and ‘shreds’ of gluten are visible. This can take up to 8 minutes, depending on your food processor. Don’t be alarmed if it initially starts to break apart into crumbles. Keep processing it and it will come together into a large ball. If it’s too crumbly, add a few more tablespoons of liquid and it should come together.
- Combine 2 kneaded balls of dough onto a large sheet of aluminum foil.
- Fold foil into a rectangular package and seal each end tightly. Cover with another large sheet of aluminum foil and repeat.
- Add 2 cups of water to Instant Pot and insert trivet. Place packet on top of trivet. See my above note if you don’t have an instant pot.
- Set Instant Pot for manual, high pressure for 120 minutes.
- When roast is finished cooking, quick release the pressure, and allow to come to room temperature. Remove foil whenever it is cool enough to touch.
- When roast has cooled enough to handle, split roast in half.
- Shred gently along the grains that were formed by the food processor, until entire roast is shredded. Refrigerate for best texture.
- When ready to cook, sauté in a pan with a light layer of oil. Add at the end of recipes with high moisture content (soups or stews) otherwise use as you would any other meat alternative.
Note: this recipe is meant to be seasoned or sautéed post steaming. You may find the initial product a bit bland and/or gluten flavored. It is a base ‘bland chicken’ recipe. Please consider it like you would bland chicken.
P.S. This blog is not my full time job, but if you found this content useful, you can donate to me through PayPal
*sub chickpea miso if soy intolerant.
**use less salt if using canned salted chickpeas.
**A special thanks to Chef Skye Michael for the methods and techniques which inspired this recipe.
What is the best way to shred this hand or fork method? do you season with anything before or after?
It definitely shreds best by hand. It’s meant to be a blank slate flavor, I always season after it’s shredded and cooled before adding to other dishes.
When I set my instant pot to 120 it registers as 1 hour and 20 minutes which is 80 minutes. Should I set it to 2 hours instead of 120? Thanks.
Yes! 2 hours is the appropriate time, it seems like this a feature on the newer models.
I think 🤔 the question I should ask is
Is Oil Absolutely necessary in any of your recipes?
Please see previous responses. Tahini is a good swap for most of the seitan recipes
I have made this recipe without the oil (I always omit oil called for in recipes — it is so unnecessary) and it was delish. See my results at TheCleanVegan on Facebook.
What happens with this recipe if I leave the oil out?
Substitute with tahini.
I have made this recipe without the oil (I always omit oil called for in recipes — it is so unnecessary) and it was delish. See my results at TheCleanVegan on Facebook.
Would it work in a normal pressure cooking, just placing it on top of the water during high pressure cooking?
Yes, it should work well
Thanks, looking forward to trying the recipe!
I made this again, only this time I modified the recipe, adding various flavoring ingredients and OMG it was delish!!
Do tell what flavoring ingredients you added 🙂
How is it in a vegan chicken salad? I’m looking to replicate the taste of a traditional chicken salad as closely as possible for my omni husband.
I’ve found that it’s the add-ins make or break a good copycat recipe. My now vegan husband missed his beloved chicken salad & I was able to make a can’t-tell-the-difference version using by using the same or vegan version of/for flavor palate ingredients, namely onion, tarragon & [oil-free cashew based] sour cream. ChickWheat shreds and chickpeas work equally well as a base chicken substitute.
Thanks! I am relatively new to making seitan and vegan cheeses (former junk/processed food vegan lol) and have several different recipes for chicken meat analogues. I am specifically looking for a very bland veg chicken with the proper texture, so this will probably work really well. I’m going to shred it and then chop it for the salad. I’ve heard so many rave reviews for chickwheat (and this recipe in particular), especially on a FB Seitan group I belong to. Thanks again for your help!
What setting (number, speed..) should be used if using a Kitchen Aid mixer). Thanks
I have heard people say speed 5 is what they recommend, but I don’t own a kitchen aid mixer so I can’t say for certain
Hopefully another commentor will chime in here.
I have made this recipe twice using my Kitchen Aid. Mine is an older model – the Classic Plus – which has the following speeds: Stir,2,4,6,8,10. I knead the whole batch at once at both 4 and 6 for 15-20 minutes, stopping the machine every few minutes as needed to squish the dough down and test it for elasticity. Sometimes I also take it out and knead a bit by hand. Both times the texture has been great.
Hi! I’ve been trying to find miso paste where I live and have not been successful. is ther anything i can substitute with? Thanks!
I can’t speak specifically for this recipe, but I have used other vegan soup bases where a recipe calls for miso paste. You can find it by the bullion cubes.
Miso is easy to make too! You can pretty much miso any bean you want…. brad from the ba kitchen its alive series goes into detail on it! Great watch and you get way more for your money and also you get the tamari by product too which is just awesome!
Thank you, I was about to give up making seitan, I had not found a recipe I liked, the texture was wrong for me. Mine turned out like a dense bread. I was told of your recipe on a Facebook group. It really is delicious and the texture is just what I was looking for.
Hi,
I’m attempting now this recipe and the dough got sticky and started to really stick to the food processor’s blade and dough hook (I tried both). My machine almost broke, the drive shaft to be more precise (magi mix 4200xl, 950 w induction motor).
Why isn’t the dough getting firmer? It seems that I got softer and sticky… Please advise me 😦
Not sure if you got your answer already but thought I would let you know I have read a few post where people break it into smaller chunks and then hand kneed them together or cook them separate.
Suggestions for storage if it’s too much? Can I freeze?
Absolutely! It freezes very well.
I made this last night and I am amazed at the magic that happened when I put the seitan in the food processor! The final texture is amazing and I’m pretty sure this is how Asian restaurants make that fancy looking seitan. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
I made a batch of this over the weekend. I have made two Asian dishes with the shreds and was VERY impressed! This recipe is a keeper.
I’m SO excited! I just made my second attempt at this and it came out PERFECTLY. The first attempt failed. Either I didn’t leave it going in the food processor long enough, or I might have over-measured the aquafaba. I measured the gluten by weight so I think I was ok there. But it was doughy the first time. I did notice that the dough was definitely drier this time. . . and it WORKED. Now I can make chickwheat tamales!
Hi Heather,
I am going to use this recipe for tamales as well! I’m thinking a chicken mole and/or with cheese and green chili. I’ve used jackfruit in the past but I want some protein in there. 🙂
What did you season your chickwheat with when preparing? I’m considering adding in more garlic, pepper, cumin and some coriander.
It’s tamale season – Salud!
For the “Aquafaba..in this ” Chick Wheat” recipe…do you whip it into peaks 1st ..minus any other ingredients B4 Adding to your mixture?
Put in the AQUA FABA?
Or in its original liquid form?
Thank you
D.I .O..S
Just aquafaba as a liquid, not whipped.
How long can this be refrigerated?
Up to one week.
Made this for the first time today. It is nothing short of fantastic. I used dried chickpeas and next time I will be removing the chickpea hulls/skins, wasn’t sure whether to remove them, now I know.
Hi. I followed the recipe .
My dough did not get warm. I wrapped rhe 2 halves and steamed it. It came out as 2 condensed rolls.
Please help. Where did I go wrong
It sounds like you did not knead it enough. The dough does come out if the steamer as a condensed roll, but you should be able to break it apart into shreds with your hands.
Can this be frozen?
Yes, for up to 3 months.
Thank you!!!! Mine turned out well and I had it in tacos today!!!
I realize that this actual recipe belongs to Chef Skye, NOT only the technique and methods! You are NOT original. Most all of the recipe you posted in here or your Instagram it’s just a copies of Chef Skye HARDWORK. Just because you replaced tofu to chickpeas doesn’t mean you are great! Be ashamed of yourself! For those of you who are condemning my post, go and check Seitan and Beyond by Chef Skye, find him on The Gentle Chef on FB.
Actually, Esther, I’m a big fan of Chef Skye, and he is the one who originally encouraged me to share my variation as it had been so altered through ingredients and technique that it was a complete different thing from his shredded chickun.
Feel free to search for my name in his Gentle Chef group, and I’m sure you will come across the post where it was discussed.
What a crappy comment. You could have been kinder, but you chose to be insulting instead. So, “be ashamed of yourself” instead. Maybe she isn’t “original”, but you are not nice. FWIW, she did give credit to Skye in the blog post, and that’s all she is required to do.
I made it for the first time today, with a bamboo steamer, and it’s delicious. It’s quite big tough, so I was wondering how long can it last in the fridge. Also, can I freeze it? Thanks!
It lasts up to a week in the fridge, and up to 3 months frozen.
I only have red miso paste, would it work? Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try!
It will work flavorwise, but it will turn the shreds red!
Hi! I’m really keen to try this but wanted to check – do I have to alter the cooking time if I just steam it? I don’t have an instapot. Also can I sub anything for miso? I can’t get it here. Thanks!
Hi, this information is included in the post. Steam for the same amount of time or 30 minutes longer to ensure its fully cooked. You can used nutritional yeast and extra salt for the miso.
I did not read all of the comments so I apologize is this was asked previously, can a bread maker be used to do the kneading on “dough only” setting?
Sure, worth a try! Keep an eye on it to make sure it gets to taffy level but I’ve heard others have success with a bread maker for kneading.
I added Greek seasonings to make “lamb” for gyros. Delicious!
This might be the best seitan recipe I’ve ever tried. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can’t stop eating it right out the fridge. And I can’t wait to try it in all kinds of recipes. I gather from your description that it may not stand up to prolonged cooking in liquid. I’ll be interested to see if I can use it to replace soy curls in my No-Butter-No-Chicken (h/t Vegan Richa). And I’ve been looking for something to make the perfect chile verde. Could this be it? Whatever its limitations prove to be, it’s a great recipe and its made me a Follower of your blog.
Would it be possible to form into patties prior to steaming? Always looking for that ultimate chick’un sandwich.
Certainly! Just cut it down to the size you want!
Sooo, just to clarify. I can steam on top of my stove using a pot and a steaming basket?
Yep! Just be sure to keep it high enough off the heat in the basket and it may take a little more time if you have a thick roast.
Am I leaving the instant pot in in the venting position or closed?
Closed!