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These vegan Thai seitan ribs have lemongrass worked right into the dough. They've got a hyper-sexy glaze with vegan fish sauce, bird's eye chilies and fresh herbs that only takes a few minutes to caramelize all over their meaty surfaces. A verrrry impressive din din is about to be sticky all over your fingers without a ton of work.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Vital wheat gluten is the whole rib here, so this one is a hard pass for gluten-free folks. No point fighting it.
Mince the lemongrass, herbs and chilies and whisk the sauce while the ribs bake, so it's ready to go the second they hit the pan.
Make your own vegan fish sauce and keep it in the fridge. You can also make the sriracha too, ya’ cheap bum!
Use reduced-sodium tamari in the dough and go easy on the hoisin in the sauce, which contains plenty of sugar and sodium that you can dial back.
Minced jalapeños stand in for bird's eye chilies, regular basil works if Thai basil is MIA, and sambal oelek covers for sriracha.
Peel off the tough outer layers and use only the pale, tender bottom of the stalk.
Fresh gluten is springy and kinda has a mind of its own. A short rest after shaping keeps the strips from shrinking back when you cut them.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
These started life as a remix of my vegan Chinese ribs. It's pretty much the same chewy seitan strips, but instead of a Chinese takeout glaze, these get lemongrass, lime, chilies and hella fresh herbs piled on top.
If you are already a freak about my lemongrass tofu, consider this the version of that for people who don't run in terror of gluten every time they see a majestic field of wheat swaying in the breeze.
Rock these with nam jim jaew over some coconut jasmine rice and you are seriously good to go for din din time.
Jump to:
Why you'll adore these Thai-style seitan ribs
🌿 Lemongrass All the Way Through: It's in the dough and in the sauce, so like non-veg Thai ribs, it tastes lightly smoky and herbal, not like a jar of curry paste. You're gonna want to add it to your rotation of vegan Thai recipes that you lurrrve.
🏈 Party Food With Some Fire: Put them out with other vegan Super Bowl recipes and watch who can handle the bird's eye chilies and who quietly reaches for a cucumber like a God-forsaken sissy.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like every one of my vegan recipes, this was perfected with feedback from my recipe tester crew that's now 1,000+ deep.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
Seitan ribs ingredients
Vital wheat gluten
The strips are vital wheat gluten with a little chickpea flour mixed in, which keeps them ribs-like chewy, but still nice and tender instead of rubbery.
I do a mix like this a lot with my vegan meat recipes to dilute the strength of the gluten so they come out more tender inside. Check out my seitan pastrami or vegan BBQ brisket for other applications of this same principle.
Want a little more of that red rib color? Add 1 teaspoon of red yeast rice powder to the dough. It's optional, because I know the stuff isn't available at every supermarket in the galaxy. It's not essential, just there to make these more rib-like in color.
Lemongrass
Between the dough and in the sauce you'll need 2-3 stalks, all finely minced. Use only the pale, tender bottom part of the stalk and peel off the tough outer layers first, otherwise you'll be chewing on fibers like a confused cow.
But Adam, are you really gonna make me throw out all that nice smelling scrap stuff? Nope. Throw them into a hot mug of bandrek tea, or use them to make some homemade Thai red curry paste.
Vegan fish sauce
Vegan fish sauce is the salty, funky backbone of the sauce. Ocean's Halo is a solid store-bought one, or make my homemade vegan fish sauce and keep a jar in the fridge.
If you want the sauce to have even more garlic and pungency, use my nước chấm instead. Or stir a little of my vegan shrimp paste (great for cooking Southeast Asian noodles and whatnot) into some water to thin it out, and use that in place of the fish sauce.
Hoisin and sriracha
Because ribs need something sweet as part of their glaze, hoisin sauce is what we are using to balance all the acidity from the lime and fish sauce. Sriracha adds just a little garlicky heat on top of the fresh chilies.
No sriracha in your fridge? (Are we even friends?) Sambal oelek works too, and you can make it from scratch with my recipe.
Bird's eye chilies
These tiny Thai chilies are small and very, very hot. There are 2 minced in the sauce and 2 more sliced on top, so if you're cooking for heat-wimps, put the slices in a little bowl on the side and let people choose their own fate.
Can't find bird's eye chilies? Minced jalapeños, or just about any other hot pepper can be used. Tweak the amount to your taste.
The herbs
Thai basil has purple stems and an extra fragrant licorice-y, peppery thing going on with it that regular Italian basil just doesn't have. Though if that's all you can get your hands on where you live, this will be yummy made with it anyway. Pile it on with the cilantro right before serving so it stays bright green instead of wilting.
If you grab a whole big ol' bunch of Thai basil and have no clue what else to do with it, the stuff makes some legendary Thai basil eggplant and vegan pad kee mao.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
Variations
Vegan BBQ Ribs
Same seitan idea, full backyard cookout. My vegan BBQ ribs sandwich a smoky tofu and miso meat dough between 2 layers of coconut oil "fat," get cinnamon sticks jammed in for bones, then hit the grill with oodles of either traditional bbq sauce or my Korean BBQ sauce.
Chinese Spare Ribs
My vegan Chinese ribs are seitan strips, seared in sesame oil and tossed in a sticky, red hoisin sriracha glaze.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
How to make vegan Thai seitan ribs
This one's mostly knife work: mince the lemongrass, mince the herbs, mince the chilies, and try not to rub your eye afterward. Recipe card is down at the bottom when you're ready to print.
Step One
The Lemongrass Is Always Greener:
Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). In a food processor, combine the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, Shaoxing wine, vegetable stock, lemongrass, tomato paste, olive oil, hoisin sauce, tamari, and red yeast rice powder (if using). Process for 90 seconds, until a somewhat stringy, meaty dough forms.
Step Two
Strip Tease:
Shape the dough into a slab ½ inch (1.25 cm) tall, 4 inches (10 cm) long and about 14 inches (35 cm) wide. Let it rest for 5-6 minutes to relax the gluten, then cut it into strips ½ inch (1.25 cm) tall, 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide and 4 inches (10 cm) long.
Step Three
Pan Solo:
Lightly oil a parchment-lined baking pan. Arrange the strips in a single layer with a little space between them and bake for 30-35 minutes, until firm to the touch and lightly golden.
Bend each strip slightly for more natural rib shapes.
Step Four
Chili Vanilli:
While the ribs bake, whisk together the vegan fish sauce, hoisin sauce, sriracha, lime juice, lemongrass, cilantro, bird's eye chilies, shallots, scallions, and white pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
Step Five
The Sear Witch Project:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 90 seconds. Add the baked ribs and sear for 2-3 minutes per side, turning as needed, until browned on the outside.
Step Six
Tossed and Found:
Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour the sauce over the ribs. Toss gently to coat, then cook for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally, until the sauce coats the ribs evenly.
Step Seven
Basil Instinct:
Move the ribs to an attractive serving platter. Top with the sliced bird's eye chilies, scallions, cilantro leaves, and Thai basil.
Serving ideas
Make rice. There's way too much sauce to leave in the pan. Thai basil fried rice doubles down on the basil, while tom yum fried rice or khao pad turn these ribs into a full takeout night.
Perhaps your mouth will want a fire extinguisher. Som tam or a quick Thai cucumber salad both do the job pretty nicely.
Rock this with some Thai peanut noodles and a big towering glass of iced Thai tea for every person who swore they could handle the bird's eye chilies.
Top tips
- Mince the Lemongrass Into Oblivion: Peel off the tough outer layers and use only the pale, tender bottom of the stalk. Leave it chunky and you'll be picking woody little splinters out of your teeth like you just lost a fight with a broom.
- Let the Dough Rest Before Cutting: Freshly made gluten dough is springy and kinda has a mind of its own. A short 5-6 minute rest after shaping keeps the strips from shrinking back when you cut them.
Recipe FAQs
A wee bit spicy, at least for card-carrying spice wimps, due to the bird's eye chilies and the sriracha. To make it milder, seed the chilies, or even leave them out entirely in the sauce.
Same dough, opposite moods: sticky and sweet versus sour, hot and herby. The vegan Chinese ribs get a sticky hoisin, black vinegar and 5-spice glaze, while these use lemongrass in the dough and a fresh lime, chili and herb sauce.
Nope. Not even a little. Take the gluten out and you've basically got lemongrass soup. Hoisin and Shaoxing wine usually contain wheat too.
🧊 In the Fridge: Leftovers keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The herbs wilt, so add fresh ones when you reheat.
❄️ In the Freezer: Freeze the baked, unsauced strips in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then sear and sauce.
🔥 Reheating: Reheat them in a covered pan with a little oil and a splash of water over medium heat. Flip them once while they steam back to life.
You'll also love these meaty vegan Thai recipes:
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Vegan Thai Spare Ribs Recipe
Ingredients
For The Ribs:
- 1 ¼ cup vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- ¼ cup shoaxing wine
- ½ cup unsalted vegetable stock
- ¼ cup lemongrass finely minced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 4 teaspoons tamari
- 1 teaspoon red yeast rice powder (optional for color)
- 4 teaspoons olive oil (for cooking)
For the Rib Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons vegan fish sauce
- ⅓ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup sriracha
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons lemongrass finely minced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro minced
- 2 bird's eye chilies minced
- 2 tablespoons shallots or red onion, minced
- 2 tablespoons scallions or chives, minced
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
To Garnish:
- 2 bird's eye chilies thinly sliced
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup Thai Basil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C). In a food processor, combine the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, Shaoxing wine, vegetable stock, lemongrass, tomato paste, olive oil, hoisin sauce, tamari, and red yeast rice powder (if using). Process for 90 seconds, until a somewhat stringy, meaty dough forms.
- Shape the dough into a slab measuring ½ inch tall, 4 inches long, and roughly 14 inches wide. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes, until the gluten relaxes, then cut it into strips measuring ½ inch tall, 1 inch wide, and 4 inches long.
- Lightly oil a parchment-lined baking pan. Arrange the dough pieces in a single layer with a little space between them and bake for 30-35 minutes, until just firm to the touch and lightly golden.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the vegan fish sauce, hoisin sauce, sriracha, lime juice, lemongrass, cilantro, bird's eye chilies, shallots, scallions, and white pepper. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds when the oil is hot add the baked ribs and sear for 2-3 minutes per side, turning as needed, until browned on the outside.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour the rib sauce over the seared ribs. Toss gently to coat, then cook for 3-4 minutes, turning the ribs occasionally, until the sauce coats the ribs evenly.
- Transfer the ribs to a serving platter. Garnish with sliced bird's eye chilies, sliced scallions, cilantro leaves, and Thai basil.
Notes
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