Seitan, Tofu, and Tempeh: Building Serious Protein Into the Fast

There is a moment in a long fast when soup and bread stop being enough, when the body that works and trains needs real, dense protein on the plate. Seitan, tofu, and tempeh answer that need. These are not "fake meat" and they are not a modern gimmick — tofu and tempeh are ancient foods with centuries of Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian culinary tradition behind them, and wheat gluten has fed Buddhist monastics for over a thousand years. They belong on the Orthodox fasting table on their own terms.

None of the three contains meat, dairy, or eggs, so all are permitted throughout every fasting season. The only thing to watch is oil: each can be cooked richly on an oil day or kept lean on a strict day, and below I note how.

TOFU: PROTEIN YOU CONTROL

Tofu is curdled soy milk pressed into blocks. It is roughly 10g protein per half-cup for firm tofu, more for extra-firm, and almost nothing but protein and water. Its reputation for blandness comes entirely from cooks who skip two steps.

1. PRESS IT. Firm or extra-firm tofu is full of water that keeps it from browning and from absorbing flavor. Wrap the block in a towel, set a heavy pan on top, and leave it 20–30 minutes. The texture transforms.
2. SEASON AGGRESSIVELY. Pressed tofu is a sponge. Marinate it in soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and a little maple or rice vinegar, then cook.

On an OIL DAY: cube the pressed tofu, toss with a spoon of cornstarch, and pan-fry or roast until the edges are crisp and golden. This is the version that converts skeptics. On a STRICT NO-OIL DAY: there is still excellent tofu to be had. Simmer cubes in a soy-and-aromatics broth, add them to miso soup, or crumble silken tofu into a Chinese-style braise. Silken tofu in particular needs no oil and no pressing — blend it into creamy soups and sauces where you would once have used dairy.

SEITAN: WHEAT-GLUTEN PROTEIN, MADE AT HOME

Seitan is concentrated wheat protein — vital wheat gluten washed or mixed into a dough, then simmered. It is the most protein-dense of the three at roughly 20–25g protein per 100g, with a genuinely chewy, satisfying bite. It is also cheap to make and keeps for a week.

The fast and reliable method from vital wheat gluten:

- 1 cup vital wheat gluten (Bob's Red Mill is widely available)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast for savor and a little extra protein
- 1 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth or water, plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Mix dry, add wet, knead 2–3 minutes until elastic, then rest 10 minutes. Shape into a log or cutlets. SIMMER (do not boil hard) in seasoned broth for 45–60 minutes, or steam wrapped in foil for the same time. Boiling too hard makes it spongy; a bare simmer keeps it dense.

Once simmered, seitan is cooked and ready. On an OIL DAY, slice and sear it for crisp edges, or stir-fry it. On a STRICT DAY, it is already perfectly good straight from the broth — slice it cold into a sandwich, or simmer it into a stew. Note: seitan is pure wheat, so it is off the table for anyone avoiding gluten, and it is not a complete protein on its own — pair it across the day with beans or rice.

TEMPEH: FERMENTED, WHOLE, AND HEARTY

Tempeh is whole soybeans fermented into a firm cake — an Indonesian staple for centuries. Because it is fermented and uses the whole bean, it brings more fiber and a deeper, nuttier, almost mushroomy flavor than tofu, at roughly 16–18g protein per half-cup. It is the most substantial-feeling of the three.

Some find tempeh slightly bitter straight from the package; steaming it for 10 minutes before cooking removes that completely and opens it to marinade. Then slice it thin and, on an OIL DAY, pan-fry until crisp and glaze with soy and maple; on a STRICT DAY, simmer the steamed slices in a seasoned broth or braise. Crumbled tempeh also makes an excellent base for a hearty Lenten chili or pasta sauce.

A WEEK OF SERIOUS FASTING PROTEIN

A working faster who trains can build real meals around these three plus legumes:

- Crispy roasted tofu over rice with vegetables (oil day)
- Seared seitan cutlets with greens and beans (oil day)
- Tempeh and vegetable stir-fry (oil day)
- Miso soup with silken tofu and a bowl of lentils (strict day)
- Seitan simmered into a bean-and-tomato stew (strict day)

Stock vital wheat gluten, a couple of blocks of firm tofu, and a package of tempeh, and you can put genuinely filling, protein-rich food on the table any night of the fast — lean on strict days, rich on oil days. These ingredients ask only that you cook them with intention. As always, for personal questions about your own fasting rule, ask your priest or spiritual father; the kitchen will not let you down.