All Hail Lord Seitan!
Seitan or mein-jin is a nutritious vegetarian food. It's basically gluten. It can be purchased cheaply in Asian grocery stores. Or you can make it. How?
Quick Homemade Gluten
(Makes 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds or 2 to 2-1/2 cups)
2 cups high gluten flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/4 cups water or vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
1-3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Add garlic powder and ginger to flour and stir. Mix liquids together and add to the flour mixture all at once. Mix vigorously with a fork. When it forms a stiff dough, knead it around 15 times.
Let the dough rest 2 to 5 minutes, then knead it a few more times. Let it rest another 15 minutes.
Slice the gluten into 6 to 8 pieces and then stretch them into thin cutlets. Simmer in the following broth for 30 to 60 minutes.
Broth:
4 cups water
1/4 cup shoyu
3-inch piece of kombu (a type of seaweed)
3-4 slices ginger
white pepper
teaspoon of aged rice vinegar
teaspoon of mirin
Combine all of the ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring the broth to a boil. Drop the seitan in one at a time. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and cover the saucepan.
Or, like I said, you can just buy it in Chinatown.