Here’s a bit of trivia about hubby and me: we live and die by our hockey team, the Buffalo Sabres.  If you know me “in real life” (and you’re not a Sabres fan yourself), chances are you’ve been bored to tears by me talking about the team incessantly… telling you the stats of my favorite players, giving you my armchair coach theories about where they need to improve, bragging about Ryan Miller (USA! USA!) and predicting how far my guys will get into the postseason.  Hubby and I watch every game with NHL Center Ice and we catch a few games in person every year (we go every time the Sabres are in DC to play the Capitals, and we try to see at least one home game in Buffalo every year).  This year started out rough, but we stuck by our team and they rewarded us with a committed new owner and a fantastic finish to the season… and now we’re off to the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

Last night was our first playoff game of the season, and hubby and I knew we had to do something special for it.  Enter Buffalo Seitan.  Now, the city of Buffalo is not exactly famous for its many vegetarian specialties.  There’s Buffalo wings, beef on weck, and the many non-vegetarian Polish dishes.  But this veggie household still wanted to get in on the Buffalo foodie action, and a veg-friendly reimagining of Buffalo wings did the trick.  Buffalo Seitan is just as rich and spicy as the original recipe that inspired it (but not quite as fattening).  Served with rice, greens, and a drizzle of lemon-chive dressing (sadly we didn’t have ranch or blue cheese!), we didn’t even miss the chicken.  And the meal tasted even better because we got to eat it while watching the Sabres win 1-0 on the road to take an early series lead.  Let’s Go Buffalo!

Buffalo Seitan

1 package chicken-flavored seitan strips
olive oil (1 tablespoon or use spray)
3 tablespoons butter (or Earth Balance for a vegan alternative)
3-6 tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

• Heat oil in a non-stick saute pan over medium-high (either drizzle a tablespoon of oil, or spray to coat the bottom of the pan evenly).
• Drain seitan package and pat seitan strips dry with a paper towel.  Add to pan and saute until browned on either side and warmed through.
• Meanwhile, melt together the butter and Frank’s sauce over low heat, then immediately remove from heat.  (Use a 1-1 ratio of sauce to butter for a mild sauce and increase the ration to 1.5-1 or 2-1 for more heat.  I used a 1-1 ratio because I’m a wimp.  It tasted great to me, but hubby doused his with probably another 1/2 cup of Frank’s sauce.  To each their own!)
• When seitan is fully browned, drizzle sauce directly into saute pan and toss to coat all the seitan.  Serve immediately over brown rice with a side of greens (and a drizzle of ranch or a ranch dipping sauce would be nice here, but sadly my pantry came up short).

Yield: Serves 2

Source: Messybaker’s hubby just knows the Buffalo sauce recipe, as do all Buffalo guys. 

Nota Baker: Hubby suggested eliminating the olive oil, sauteeing the seitan directly in the butter, and then tossing it with Frank’s sauce at the end.  I’ll try this method next time and report back with an update.

LET’S GO BUFF-A-LO!