In this post I show you how to make vegan mongolian beef with chickpeas and seitan. Vegan mongolian beef is one of my favorite ways to use seitan because it is so full of flavor and the sticky, sweet sauce is just so delicious! This recipe is a great healthy and cruelty-free version of the popular Chinese takeout.
Other Healthy Vegan Recipes You Might Like
- How to make seitan
- How to make tempeh
- Baked tofu with tahini marinade
- Vegan mac and cheese
- Vegan sushi with carrot lox
- easy vegan seitan chicken
What You Need To Make The Vegan Mongolian Beef Seitan
To make the seitan base, you will need:
- chickpeas: I like adding some beans or legumes to my seitan mix as this not only adds another source of plant-based protein, I find it also improves the overall textures of the seitan. You can sub with white beans or kidney beans (which might change the color).
- soy sauce for some umami flavor
- dark balsamic vinegar
- tomato paste for more umami flavor
- liquid smoke: I love adding liquid smoke to seitan, tofu, tempeh...
- spices: garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper
- seitan powder (vital wheat gluten): This gives the vegan mongolian beef the beef-like consistency.
What You Need To Make The Vegan Mongolian Beef Sauce
To make the delicious sticky sauce, you need:
- soy sauce: You can sub with tamari if you don't want to use soy sauce.
- maple syrup: Replace with agave syrup or any other liquid sweetener of your choice.
- garlic: Go big! There is never too much garlic in this dish. Because we add the sweet maple syrup, it balances out the strong garlic flavor and we get some delicious caramelized garlic pieces.
- ginger: How much you use really depends on your preferences. I l ove to add roughly 1-2 tbsp of minced ginger.
How To Serve This Vegan Mongolian Beef?
Traditionally, this dish is served with rice and broccoli. It's a classic yet delicious combination. If you're short on time, you can use frozen broccoli which you just thaw/reheat in a microwave. Instead of rice, you could also use couscous (which you only need to cover with hot water!) or quinoa.
I think this vegan mongolian seitan would also go great in a stir fry. Add some carrots and broccoli to a pan, then the seitan and sauce, and in the end your favorite stir-fry pasta.
How To Store Vegan Mongolian Beef?
Making your own seitan does take some time - especially if you're new to it. So don't worry - first, it will become easier the more often you make it. Now when I make seitan, I don't even have to think about all the steps and measures. Second, you can totally make a bigger batch to save time!
What I would recommend is to store the baked seitan discs in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Only cut them into strips right before you want to use them, otherwise they will dry out faster. If your seitan has become dry, you can try cutting it into strips/pieces and cooking in some water/veggie broth for a few minutes to soften.
As for the sauce, I think it is great if you can prepare that in advance! This way, the flavor from the garlic and ginger will really come through!
More Ideas To Use Seitan
So, you made a big batch of seitan and now what? Don't want to eat vegan mongolian beef the entire week? Check out these ideas what else you could make with seitan.
- stir fry with carrots, bell pepper, broccoli and noodles
- make vegan gyros and serve with vegan yogurt dressing, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes and pita bread
- shred/slice into very thin strips to imitate pulled pork
- instead of adding the garlic and ginger sauce, add a homemade BBQ sauce to the pan (tomato paste or pureed tomatoes, maple syrup, soy sauce)
Vegan Mongolian Beef (Made With Seitan)
Ingredients
For the seitan
- 1 cup chickpeas, cooked ~175g
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp dark balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- liquid smoke a few drops
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- ¾ cup seitan powder (vital wheat gluten) ~110g
For the sauce
- ⅛ cup soy sauce or tamari
- ⅛ cup maple syrup or another liquid sweetener
- ⅛ cup water
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 small knob ginger
Instructions
To make the seitan
- Preheat your oven to 180°C.
- Place all the ingredients except the seitan powder in a food processor and blend until smooth. You should get a slightly runny mixture, a little bit like runny nut butter.
- Add salt to taste. You want the raw seitan to be quite salty as it tends to get less salty once cooked.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the seitan powder. Combine using a wooden spoon. Once a dough starts to form, knead with your hands for ~5 minutes until a stretchy dough forms. Add more water if the dough is to crumbly/dry. You should be able to pull it apart (with some effort).
- Press the seitan into a flat disc. The dough might be a bit hard to work with but aim for 2-3 cm. Place in a oven-safe dish and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, flipping after 30.
To make the sauce
- Mince the garlic and ginger.
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl.
To serve
- Cut the seitan into thin strips and add to a pan. Fry on high heat for 5 minutes until crispy on the outside.
- Deglaze the pan with the sauce and reduce the heat. Let it simmer for a few more minutes so the sauce thickenes and the seitan absorbs all the delicious flavors.
- Serve with broccoli and rice.
Wow wow wow this was AMAZING. My mom kept raving about how it tastes like a restaurant quality dish. I was nervous to try this as I've got a not so great record with cooking seitan but this came out perfect.
Thank you so much for this great recipe! Saving it for whenever I need a good vegan beef substitute 😀
Seitan can be tricky for sure! So happy you and your mom enjoyed this recipe. 🙂