Vegan Mongolian Beef

[nverland]

Vegan Mongolian Beef
Prep time 5 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 20 mins Serves: 2-3

Ingredients
For the Sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. granulated sugar (turbinado, coconut or organic brown sugar all work)
¼ cup water
2 tbsp. chilled water
1 tsp. cornstarch

For the Stir-Fry
1-8 oz. package seitan strips (or make your own)
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
2-3 dried chili peppers, halved (optional)
2 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces

For Serving
Cooked rice or rice noodles

Instructions

Make the sauce by stirring soy sauce, sugar and ¼ cup of water or broth together in a small bowl. Stir cornstarch and chilled water together in a small cup. Set aside.
Drain the seitan and discard liquid. Place cornstarch into a medium bowl and add seitan strips. Toss to coat.
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and place over medium-high heat. Add seitan in as even a layer as possible. Cook until strips are browned and crisp on bottoms, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook 4-5 minutes more, until strips are crispy on opposite sides. Remove seitan from skillet and transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.
Lower heat to medium. Add garlic, ginger and dried chilies, if using, to skillet. Sauté 2 minutes, until very fragrant and chilies begin to darken a bit. Return seitan to skillet with sauce, cornstarch mixture and scallions. Flip a few times to coat, and cook just until sauce becomes very thick, about 2 minutes.
Divide noodles or rice onto plates and top with seitan. Serve immediately.

Notes
Options! If you avoid gluten, sub gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce, and some cubed pan-fried tofu cooked according to this method.
If you want to reduce or cut down on the oil, you can do that, but I'd suggest skipping the cornstarch and simply pan-searing the seitan. If you're using no oil whatsoever, stir the garlic and ginger right into the sauce, so they don't burn.
Maple syrup or agave can be used in place of granulated sugar, though the flavor will be a bit milder and the sauce might not thicken up quite as much.