Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Panko Crusted Seitan, Country Bob and More...

A good week or so ago, Michelle of Lovinlivinvegan blog hosted a giveaway for some Country Bob's All Purpose sauce, an item that makes regular appearances on her blog...and I got lucky and won! Thanks Michelle!

This post was a long time in coming; I received the sauce a week ago, but I wanted to use it a few times before I posted about it. So, this is the official Country (-ountry, -ountry, -ountry) Bob's (-ob's, -ob's, -ob's) Mega (-ega, -ega, -ega) Post (-ost, -ost, -ost).  (BlessedMama: I couldn't resist :D

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce:


Country Bob:


The sauce is made from tomato paste, molasses, and tamarind pulp and a blend of onion, garlic and other spices. It makes a sweet, deep, slightly tangy condiment for savory dishes. 

The first thing we tried it with was some panko-breaded seitan and shredded cabbage:


A a squeeze of fresh lemon, some Country Bob's, and some daikon radish on the side, made this really tasty, crispy, and satisfying. 


Here's the seitan recipe I made:

Panko-Breaded Seitan 

1.5  cups Vital Wheat Gluten + 2 Tbs chickpea flour
1/4 tsp Garlic Granules (or to taste)
1/4 tsp Onion Powder (or to taste)
2 sprigs fresh thyme, removed from woody stem
1 cup Seitenbacher veggie broth (or 1 cup no-salt veggie broth + 1/4 cup nutritional yeast) 
1 cup cooked white beans, like cannelini
1 Tbs Soy Sauce or Bragg's Aminos
1 Tbs Vegan Worchestershire Sauce

Combine the wheat gluten, onion powder, garlic powder and thyme in  a large bowl. Pulse the beans in a food processor so they're finely chopped, or coursely mash them with a fork or potato masher, and add to the mixture.  Pour in veggie broth/nut yeast, soy sauce, and worchestershire sauce and mix to combine. 

Shape the seitan into a large roll, wrap tightly in tin foil and steam for 1 - 1.5 hours, turning occasionally until it feels firm to the touch.

Allow the seitan roll to cool and cut into 1/2-inch cutlets. I cut mine length-wise, and I got 4, 6-inch peices.

For the Panko Breading

Combine 1 Tbs egg replacer ( I used Ener-G brand) and 1/3 cup non-dairy milk and whisk until smooth and frothy. (You may have to add a little more liquid to adjust the consistency; it should be loose enough to dip in, but thick enough to stick to the seitan.) Add a pinch of cayenne pepper and garlic powder to taste and whisk. You'll need about 1 - 2 cups of panko bread crumbs, depending on how many cutlets you have.

Dip the seitan in the egg replacer mixture  and then dredge in the panko crumbs unitl coated, then repeat the process, so the cutlets are dipped and coated twice.

Heat about 3/4-inch of high-heat oil in a pan over medium-high until some crumbs dropped in sizzle upon hitting the surface and fry the seitan until golden brown,  ~ 1 minute on each side. 

This seitan also went well with some steamed cabbage, mashed potato with spring onion, and cooked apple. I made this last week, but come to think of it, this would be a fab St. Paddy's Day meal...we may just have this again tomorrow:


The third time we broke out the Country Bob's with was some of Melody of MeloMeals blog 3-ingredient veggie burgers on rosemary focaccia with two-bean chili and homemade oven fries (the chili is underneath the burger):


I can't say enough good things about these burgers. The three ingredients are rolled oats, hot cooked beans, and onion soup mix. The beans have to be hot, so the oatmeal plumps up as the beans are mashed in and the mixture binds. I didn't have any onion soup mix, so I made up my own spice profile with garlic powder, onion powder, some oregano, etc. The possibilities are endless with these I think; you could add in any spice combo for different flavors: curry, southwestern flavors etc. I could also see adding in finely chopped veggies, sun dried tomatoes, or other additional goodies. 

So, if you're on the lookout for a good veggie burger, head over to Melody's blog, because I highly recommend these. In fact, all her recipes are wonderful in my opinion. 

Speaking of which, here's another one of Melody's recipes: Lentil Loaf, (of course adorned with CB's sauce):


I had some leftover brown rice pilaf and braised lentils and decided a lentil loaf would be good way to use them up. This loaf is super tasty. I added a little horseradish to the loaf mix too, which was good. Melody's recipe calls for a cranberry glaze, but  I didn't have any cranberries on hand, so used some Spicy Garlic Apple Jam for the glaze. 


These Country Bob meals have been the dinner highlights of the past 7 days or so. Outside of that, we've been eating mostly beans and salad, which is good, but not necessarily that exciting to blog about. 

Thanks again to Michelle for hosting the giveaway and for the yummy sauce!

And, Happy Paddy's Day to everyone! 

16 comments:

  1. Oh, does everything look so good, especially that seitan loaf! I'm going to have to ask Mike if he's like that for dinner next week. Yum!

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  2. I don't think Country Bob knows what panko or seitan is, but I think he owes Michelle some seriously compensation for her publicity.

    This all looks good - I will have to check out Melody's blog! I love veggie burgers and I'm still looking for my favorite homemade patty.

    Happy St. Patty's day!

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  3. Oh, see, echoing is irresistible! So Country Bob's can step in as a type of plum sauce, bbq sauce, and loaf topper. I agree with Jessica: Country Bob just got a lot of free publicity! Some time I think you should take a few pics of your more "boring" meals and lower the bar for the rest of us! My husband knows you as "Rose, the Gourmet Blogger." Fortunately, his palate is so simple, that he prefers beans, fried potatoes and cornbread, thank goodness.

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  4. i had been wondering what the ingredients were in that stuff, thanks for posting it. it sounds really good! great meals and also great, clear pictures.that side salad of spinach and chickpeas is really calling to me:)scratch that... EVERYTHING is calling to me!

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  5. Wow, you are certainly getting your money's worth (or free bottle's worth) out of that Country Bob's! The chili/burger dish and the pre-St. Pat's Patty's day meal look especially great!

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  6. Ooh, this all looks so delicious! The panko-breaded seitan looks especially divine. Country Bob is one lucky guy! ;)

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  7. I'd been thinking I wasn't too keen on seitan, but this looks so good I'm going to give it a try...

    Also, we've been wanting to try making our own burgers for a while. I'm going to check Melody's blog. Thanks!

    Everything looks so tasty! I'm feeling inspired!

    Penny (Scottish Vegan Homemaker)

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  8. I'm glad you liked the burger/lentil loaf!

    I've never heard of Country Bob's.. but it sounds good.

    That Panko Seitan looks amazing!

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  9. Only you could make Country Bob's look like part of an elegant dining experience. I hope you let us know when Bob sends you a free crate of the stuff.

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  10. I'm glad you like the sauce. I totally agree with Shen...only you! :o)
    Your seitan loaf sounds amazing. I'm going to have try it right away....yummy!
    I saw those bean burgers on Melody's blog too and have been wanting to make them.
    Every thing you have posted looks delicious!!!

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  11. Hi Everyone!

    Yeah, I agree that Country Bob is getting a lot of publicity, and I should be getting my check in the mail soon; Michelle, I'll split it with you! (j/k)

    As for anyone who hasn't checked out Melody's blog and recipes, definitely do it. I make recipes from her site all the time and they all come out wonderfully.

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  12. The seitan looks fantastic — succulent, actually. The crust gives it an elegance that Country Bob probably didn't count on. (Nor did he probably count on your putting it on seitan.) But CB added tamarind to his sauce, which seems a bit out of the ordinary — at least I thought it was when I added it to my barbecue sauce — so maybe he has more culinary secrets up his sleeve than we know! The sauce sounds really tasty to me.

    Thanks for the heads up about the burgers. I remember planning to make them but never did. I'll definitely give them a try.

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  13. I agree, the seitan looks really good. My daughter has a sauce the she puts on everything (Hoboken Eddie's), this seems like the country version. And since I was raised a country girl, this might just be my kinda thing!

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  14. Andrea

    I daresay Country Bob probably does have few secrets up his sleeve. :D

    The bean-oat burgers are great in that they are so simple to make. If you try them, definitely let us know what you think.

    Jennifer

    Maybe Hoboken Eddie is Country Bob's cousin...sort of like town mouse and country mouse, they've got the sauce scene covered. :D

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  15. Girl, you have been on a winning streak since at least New Year's Eve! :-) And I too agree with Shen, only you could make something called "Country Bob's All-Purpose Sauce" look elegant. You've certainly been getting a lot of tasty mileage out of that bottle! Everything looks great - I love the idea of the burgers especially, how quick and simple (and with some of your customizing suggestions, flexible) is that?!

    You and Michelle should definitely write to Country Bob and show him what blasphemously radical vegan things you've been doing with his sauce. ;-) AND demand at least 20% of his profits in exchange for all your promotional work!

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  16. The Country Bob's thing is cracking me up. The arrow direction to the bowl of CB made me giggle. I'm surprised CB hasn't found these posts yet. Your seitan and burgers are scrumptious looking. Those burgers look so hearty and "manly." My husband would want those.

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