I'm in Heaven

Several years ago I happily came upon a fabulous Japanese spinach salad I thought was called Goma-Ae. Since moving to Toronto, it seems that this salad is certainly not as popular as it is in Vancouver. I have not been able to find a decent version of it and have pinned for it the last two years! After eying the seitan tontkatsu on the Yummy Vegan Dinners blog, I unknowingly purchased the very same cookbook Ms. Veganorama used: Japanese Cooking: Contemporary and Traditional, by Miyoko Nishimoto Schinner. Not only does it have the recipe for the tonkatsu, by it also has a recipe for horenso no goma-ae. I never thought I'd be so happy about a bunch of spinach!

Tonkatsu

2 c. water
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 cloves garlic
2-3 tbsp.nutritional yeast
Pinch of pepper (black or white)
2 c. vital wheat gluten (also called gluten flour)
Oil, for sauteing and frying
Flour (for coating)
1 c. soy milk (for dipping)
2 c. panko (dry Japanese bread crumbs)

Directions

Combine the water with the soy sauce, garlic, nutritional yeast, and pepper. Mix in the vital wheat gluten; the resulting mixture will be very soft. Divide the mixture into 6-8 pieces and pat into "steak"-shaped pieces about 1/2" thick. Heat a little oil in a skillet (a non-stick skillet is recommended) and fry the pieces until brown and crispy on both sides.

Transfer the pieces to a pot of boiling water and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender. Remove the pieces from the water and drain on a wire cookie rack.

Coat each piece of cooked seitan in flour, then dip in soy milk and coat with the panko. In the skillet, fry the seitan in oil until golden brown. Serve with tonkatsu sauce, if desired.

Important note: For some reason unknown to me, I had to use almost twice the amount of vital wheat gluten the recipe calls for to get the seitan batter to a consistency of thick pancake batter. I also had to double the seasonings to make sure the batter didn't end up bland from the extra flour. Before adding the extra flour, I had a very thin, runny batter that would not have been workable into "patties" in any way at all. In my opinion, there is no way this mixture can be formed into patties, even with the extra additions. It can only be spooned into the skillet and patter down with the back of a spoon. The patties do come out very tasty in the end.

Horenso no Goma-Ae

1 package thawed frozen spinach leaves, warmed with excess water pressed out
1/3 c. white sesame seeds
2-3 tbsp. agave nectar
1/4 c. soy sauce

In a small skillet, toast the sesame seeds over medium heat until they make a crackling sound. Remove immediately; do not allow them to colour or burn, as this renders a bitter flavour. Place the sesame seeds in a mortar and grind the with the pestle seeds until they begin to release oil, but stop short of producing a paste or butter. Add the sweetener and soy sauce, mix well and pour over the spinach.