SC - Accomodating Vegetarians at Period Feasts

[lilinah at grin.net]

>Allison, IIRC, seitan is to wheat as tofu is to soybeans.  Liandnan (nee
>Leanna)

Seitan (ooooh, could it be... seitan?) is a wheat gluten meat substitute.
Wheat flour is mixed with water, kneaded to develop the gluten (as for
baking bread), allowed to stand a bit, then washed with more water several
times, to remove most of the starch (can be kneaded in water to cover -
starchy water is poured off, more water added, etc.). It is used in Chinese
and (i think) Japanese Buddhist food - i don't know for sure if it was
eaten within the SCA period, since i haven't researched old Asian recipes.

Tofu is made by simmering soy flour to make soy milk, then adding a
chemical curdling agent, traditionally derived from sea water. After the
curds form, the water is drained off. (of course the long way - you cook
the soy beans, mash them...) It is used all over East and Southeast Asia.
Judging by the names used for it in a number of different unrelated
languages, i'd guess it originally came from China.

Rather different processes.

Anahita Gaouri bint-Karim al-Fassi


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