Po Boy Sandwich

Many moons again, I had a Po Boy Sandwich for the first time at the Chicago Diner. It was SO good. Alas, they took it off their menu. This is my attempt to recreate it, although the Diner's is better (as always!).

 Po Boy Sandwich

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 3 1/2 hours (2 hours for seitan, 1/2 hour for au jus)
* Ingredients (for seitan):

• 1/2 cup chickpeas
• 1/2 block tofu (5 oz.)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp red wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried mustard
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seed
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour
• salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste rubbed on the seitan loaf

• 1 cup vegetable broth, add more if runs out while steaming

* Ingredients (for au jus):

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 cup vegetarian chicken broth*
• 1 cup vegetarian beef broth*
• water, if necessary
• 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• sea salt and pepper, to taste

* Ingredients (for building sandwich):

• 4 hoagie buns
• vegan mayonnaise, to taste on each sandwich

* Recipe (for seitan):

1. Combine wheat gluten and nutritional yeast flakes in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend well.
3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix well. Let the wheat gluten mixture rise for a few minutes.
4. While you wait, add the vegetable broth to a medium sized pot. Do not turn on stove yet.
5. Form the wheat gluten mixture into a log and rub the top with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Wrap the seitan log in foil.
6. Put the seitan into the pot and now turn on the stove to low heat. Place pot cover on, but allow some room for the steam.
7. Steam seitan for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Make sure you don't run out of broth as you steam. Add more if you need to as you steam.
8. To store, keep the seitan in the foil you steamed it in.

* Recipe (for au jus):

1. In the pot you steamed the seitan in, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and carrots.
2. Once the onions begin to brown, add the rest of the au jus ingredients. After you add the broths, add enough water to cover 3/4th of the seitan log.
3. Baste the top of the seitan log and rotate here and there. Keep on extremely low heat during this time. You may choose to just let the seitan "soak" in the broth rather than have it on low heat.
4. Remove seitan after about 30 minutes. Take out the bay leaf then blend the onions, carrots, and broth in a blender.
5. Return back to pot and add in bay leaf again, let heat on medium heat for 30 more minutes.
6. Take out bay leaf before serving.

 * Recipe (for building sandwich):

1. Split hoagies 3/4th of the way, leaving a hinge. Slather on vegan mayonnaise on both sides of bun to taste.
2. Slice the seitan log into thin deli style slices. Add to hoagie and top with generous amounts of au jus.

* Note: I used Frontier vegetarian beef and chicken broths.