Chipotle Seitan Tacos with Jicama Slaw + Charred Corn

Come join us and celebrate Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “fifth of May”) this Sunday! I would never forget our vegan culinary adventures in Mexico City, where locals love to eat anything with homemade corn tortillas and I would love to go back and celebrate their holiday one day. The corn tortilla is considered the sandwich “bread” of Mexico. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we made Chipotle Seitan Tacos with Jicama Slaw & Charred Corn. These are homemade corn tortillas with jicama slaw, charred corn, slow-cooked black beans, tangy avocado dressing (Aderezo de Aguacate), micro greens, and the tasty chipotle-style seitan strips by Sweet Earth Natural Foods.

I hope you can try our Chipotle Seitan Tacos with Jicama Slaw & Charred Corn for the big weekend! Most of the photos are taken by a co-blogger, Doni and I did the plating.

In the following post, I will be listing the recipes in the order that I prepared them. These components are amazing together: jicama slaw provides the crisp, crunchy texture, charred corn brings out the sweetness that binds well with the smoky flavor, tangy avocado dressing provides the flavor that is nicely tangy and savory , the slow-cooked black beans has the creamy base for the tacos, and lastly the chipotle seitan by Sweet Earth Natural Foods gives a mildy sweet and savory texture. If you would like the slow-cooked black beans in your tacos, make sure you prepare them in advance, at least a half day and I would start with them first.

This is my co-blogger and partner, Doni’s signature recipe. He makes this creamy black bean & cilantro dip on a monthly basis and loves to serve it in nachos. I had to share his recipe here because the black bean sauce marries so well with these Daiya cheddar wedges and salty corn chips. Get Doni’s Creamy Black Bean & Cilantro Dip here.

The jicama slaw recipe is somewhat adapted from Sunset Magazine. I used a Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler to julienne carrots and it is one of our favorite kitchen tools. This also makes great vegetable ‘pasta’ and shoestring jicama. This julienne peeler is a must to have around for raw dishes and garnishes.

Jicama & Carrot Slaw Yield: 6 servings Ingredients 1 carrot, peeled and julienned

½ small jicama (about 10-12 oz)

½ large red bell pepper, cored, and very thinly sliced

¼ cup red cabbage, cored, and very thinly sliced

1 tablespoon green onions, thinly sliced (only the green parts)

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1½ tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 small lime)

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, minced and more for garnish

¼ green jalapeño, sliced, with seeds on

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon raw agave

pinch of chili powder

pinch of red chili flakes Method Combine oil, vinegar, lime juice, minced cilantro, salt, jalapeño, pepper, agave, chili powder, and chile flakes in a small mixing bowl. Place julienned and cut vegetables in a medium bowl. Add dressing to vegetables and massage well. Let sit for 15-20 minutes and massage 2-3 times. Leave it in the fridge for 2 hours prior serving. Serve garnished with cilantro. Notes Advance preparation: This will keep for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator. Marsala wine substitution: Other fortified wines such as madeira, sherry, or vermouth are good substitutes if you do not have marsala. Check Barnivore or contact the winery directly to confirm your fortified wine is vegan. Garnish variations: Freshly chopped capsicum, roasted nuts, bread crumbs, fried shallots, herbs or simply a drizzle of olive oil Almond-Panko garnish: In the photographs, the garnish is made of toasted almonds, panko bread crumbs and fennel fronds. Season them with salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake them on a baking sheet for 30 minutes at 275 F until slightly golden.

We wanted a creamy dressing for our tacos and Doni went with a tangy avocado dressing (Aderezo de Aguacate in Spanish) from Rick Bayless’ Mexican Everyday cookbook. We are a huge fan of Rick Bayless’ products and recipe book. It was a pretty tasty condiment with savory tones and we will use it again for other Mexican cuisine. The dressing recipe was modified with vegan ingredients. You will have to get the recipe in his cookbook!

The charred white corn brings character and mildly smoky flavor to the tacos. It is pretty simple to roast the corn. You can use a charcoal grill or a gas grill to make charred corn. I prefer white corn husks for the sweeter tones. You can also use yellow corn husks. This quick recipe below makes about 2 servings.

Heat a gas grill to high heat. Rub one ear of corn with a tablespoon of olive oil. Grill, turning frequently, until corn is charred and heated through for about 10 minutes. Remove from grill; let it cool at room temperature, cut kernels from cobs and transfer to a small starter bowl.

Simple right?

After you make and prepare slow-cooked beans, jicama slaw, your favorite creamy dressing and charred corn, it is time to make your corn tortillas. Then you can fry up Sweet Earth Natural Foods’ chipotle-style seitan strips in a saucepan with a bit of oil.

The homemade corn tortilla recipe makes about 8-10 small tacos (about 4″ diameter) and it is a perfect serving for both of us or any lovely couples and pairing friends.

For the masa, we used Instant Corn Masa Mix by Maseca. You can use any kinds of yellow corn masa flour.

Assembling

½ cup slow-cooked black beans (see recipe above)

1 cup jicama slaw (see recipe above)

¼ cup charred white corn (see recipe above)

¼ cup your favorite creamy dressing

8-10 homemade corn tortillas (see recipe above)

1 package Sweet Earth Natural Foods chipotle-style seitan or any seitan

1 tablespoon olive oil

micro greens for garnish

3-4 small limes

In a small skillet, at low-medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and fry seitan until slightly browned on both sides, turning to fry evenly. Set them aside.

Spread each corn tortilla with slow-cooked black beans and serve with jicama slaw, sliced lime wedge (for a squeeze), seitan, micro greens and garnish with charred white corn and tangy avocado dressing.