Chicago Style Italian Seitan Sandwich Oiled by Son Ame Feliz, Little Daylight and Shy Around Strangers
One of the earliest food memories I have is my mom cooking up a Philly style cheesesteak in our kitchen. The room sizzled with the smell of crisping meat and melting cheese that would eventually be dispatched to a crusty, long roll. I would burn my tongue just to get the sandwich right as it came out of the pan. I knew no other meat sandwich.
By the time I arrived in Chicago as a 19 year old, I was already a vegetarian. I saw the signs promoting “Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwiches” but I paid no attention to them. It wasn’t until the Chicago episode of Man vs Food that I learned the true gloriousness of these sandwiches. Roast Beef dripping with juice, pickled vegetables in oil (called giardiniera) and a dipped bread. A simple switch of beef with seitan and it sounded like a vegan sandwich I could really get to know. So I did.
Chicago Style Italian Seitan Sandwich
(printable version)
-1 batch of seitan
-1 Tbs. black pepper
-2 tsp. garlic powder
-1 tsp. onion powder
-1 tsp. dried oregano
-1 tsp. dried basil
-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
-1 green bell pepper, small slices
-1/2 cup vegetable stock
-giardiniera
-olive oil
-Sub Rolls, toasted
1. Make the seitan according to directions and allow to cool to the touch.
2. Place the spices on a plate and mix well. Press the seitan into the spice mixture and roll to cover. Put the rubbed seitan on a plate and store in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Remove the seitan from the refrigerator and slice into thin slices (as thin as you can get them).
4. Using a frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil. Add the green bell pepper and cook for 12 minutes (or until the pepper is beginning to brown). Set aside.
5. Heat a small amount of vegetable stock in a pot. When the stock is simmering, drop enough pieces of sliced seitan into the stock to cover a roll. Allow the seitan to float in the stock for about 2 minutes, just long enough for it to warm up.
6. Scoop the seitan out of the pot making sure to get some of the stock with it. Place the stock and seitan on the sub roll. Top with giardiniera and green peppers. Place it in the proper receptacle.
Jeremy Panda has written, played on and arranged dozens of albums over the past decade (he’s worked with the likes of Owen Pallett, The Dunes and the Paint Movement). It wasn’t until recently that Jeremy finally decided to put his name on the front of the album. Performing under the moniker Son Ame Feliz (which means Her Happy Soul) and naming his first album the same thing, Jeremy creates an album that doesn’t adhere to just one style but encompasses the whole of his previous body of work. Take, for instance, the opening track ”I Am Not A Dream.” Fuzzy and fast it sounds like something that would’ve been playing on my school bus radio in the early 90′s. Or “Friends” which is much slower and easier to sing-a-long to, reminiscent of a good alternative country track. There’s piano in “Business of Forgetting” and signs of the Black Crowes in “Just What You Don’t Want.” Experience Son Ame Feliz’s varied experiences yourself at his bandcamp page (and grab a free download of “I Am Not A Dream”):
A week back I posted the remix of Edward Sharpe’s “Man on Fire” by Little Daylight. Here is another fun track courtesy of them. This is a remix of St. Lucia’s “Before the Dive”:
Shy Around Strangers is band that started recording as a revolt. The band members, Emily Powers, Saric and Michael Dawson, all disagree with the amount of emphasis the recording industry places on on physical aesthetics. They kept themselves purposefully out of the public eye in order to put the attention where it belongs, on their music. And rightfully so. From the gritty voice escaping Emily’s throat to the hypnotic beats sent forth from Michael’s drums to the musical theatre of Saric’s instrumentation, Shy Around Strangers have a sound worth paying attention too. “Never Look Down” is the first single from the band’s debut EP. You will find it available for public consumption in August.
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack! says:
This looks and sounds super tasty!
Tender Branson says:
Thanks, Jackie. I was definitely pleased with the outcome and can’t wait to make it again.