Green chile is my absolute most favorite food ever. I go to Mexican restaurants for the sole reason to try their green chile. I started cooking around the age of 12-13 years old and since then, I’ve tried lots of green chile recipes, but I could never find one similar to the restaurant style that I love. That is until a couple weeks ago. I came across this one via a coworker of my brother, who gave him the recipe just a few months ago. My brother knows, and shares, my addiction of green chile so he sent it to me.
The original recipe had pork, but because I’m vegan, I used the delicious steamed white seitan recipe from the Viva Vegan! cookbook by Terry Hope Romero instead. I don’t know if the seitan added flavor, but I thought it would at least make it heartier. You can use whatever seitan recipe you want or you can probably do without it all-together.
Steamed White Seitan
1.5 cups cold veg broth or “chicken” flavoured broth
4 cloves garlic (grated)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1.5 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup chickpea flour (aka garbanzo flour)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt or more to taste
In a bowl, whisk together broth, garlic, and olive oil. In a large bowl combine vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, thyme, paprika, cumin, and salt. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the well and stir with a rubber spatula until dough leaves side of the bowl.
Knead for 2-3 mins to develop gluten, the let sit for 10 min. Knead again for 30 seconds.
Place dough on cutting board and cut into 4 equal pieces
Tear off four 12×12 inch pieces of foil and place one piece of dough in center of foil, fold the short sides of the foil over the loaf, then fold over the ends. It should be secure but loose enough to allow seitan to expand. Place in steamer basket and steam for 30 mins. Allow the dough to cool to the touch before chilling in fridge or overnight.
Store seitan in the fridge tightly sealed in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks or freeze, defrost before use. For the green chile recipe, you’ll need to dice one or two loaves.
Green Chile Recipe
2 mini-loafs of steamed white seitan diced
Diced roasted green chile peppers (5-6 large peppers)
1 small can of diced jalapenos (or a few fresh jalapenos)
1 16oz can diced peeled tomatoes
2 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 cup oil
2 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. pepper
1 tbsp. salt
2 cups water
2 tbsp. vegetable broth
In a large pot, on medium heat, warm oil. Add seitan and cook in oil for approx. 5 minutes. Add garlic powder, pepper and salt as per measurements or to taste.
If you haven’t already diced your green chiles, do it now!
Add green chile and jalapenos, stir and cook for about 5 minutes.
In blender, add tomato, corn starch, vegetable broth and water. Blend for a few seconds, then add to the pot. Simmer until thick. 20 minutes is probably fine, but I simmered for 45 min.
And you’re done! Put it in some tacos or smother your burritos. 😀
