CarNO Asada

I had a couple of Seitan Steaks left over from last week.  They keep incredibly well as long as they are moist.  I was racking my brain trying to come up with something to make with them.  Ashley was going to have lunch with me since we both had the day off.  She wanted to have avocados since she recently discovered how amazing they are.  She was thinking burritos, I was thinking something bigger and better.

Vegan Carne Asada

1 avocado (sliced)
1 tomato (cubed)
2 Seitan Steaks (about 1/2 lb of seitan)
3 tortillas
3-4 oz of salad greens
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1  1/2 cups of gachamole
1/2 cup of cilantro
1/2 cup of oil
2 tablespoons of vegan sour cream (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of onion (sliced)
1.2 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of jalapeno pepper (chopped)
1 teaspoon of hot sauce
1 teaspoon of salt


In a saute pan, add 1/4 cup of oil and bring to med heat.  Once the oil it hot, tear a tortilla in two halves and drop one half in the oil.  Allow to fry for about 1 minute and flip.  Dust with a touch of the salt and remove from the heat.  Set aside on a paper town to soak of some of the oil and repeat the process for the other half.  With the remaining two tortillas, tear them into pieces and fry them in the same fashion that they halves were fried.  More oil may need to be added to keep the tortillas frying.  Set all tortillas aside to cool.  They may taste slightly stale when hot.

Slice Seitan Steaks into thin pieces.  Reduce the heat to low-med and add the remaining oil.  Once the oil has come down in temperature, add the jalapeno pepper, onion, and garlic. Allow to fry for 1 minute.  Add the seitan strips and mix well.  Add the cumin, hot sauce, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper to the seitan and mix well.  Increase the heat to med.  Stir frequently and fry until the seitan has a slight crisp to it.  This should take about 6-10 minutes depending on the pan, the heat, and the frequency of stirring.

With two plates, assemble each the same as instructed.  Place the half torilla on the bottom, the next layer in the salad greens.  I used a mixed arugula but most any could be used.  Then use 3/4 cup of guacamole on the next layer.  Then spread the "chip" tortillas on the next layer (all of the chips may not be needed).  Then use 1 tablespoon of vegan sour cream for the following layer.  Cilantro is the next layer.  Add the seitan strips next.  Then top with both the tomato cubes and avocado slices.

I have a special guacamole that I make but that will have to wait until the cookbook.  I am sure that most people have their own recipe that they can use here.

Carne Asada is a very traditional meal in Mexico.  It is one of the many flavorful and fairly healthy dishes that often gets over looked by the assimilation of the Mexican menu.  It is a lot of fun to make, was delicious, a ton of food, and felt so fresh and hearty.  Another great recipe to use the seitan steaks with.