"Happy Clam" Chowder Day!

New England Can Kiss My Clam Chowder from Going Vegan, photo by Celine Steen

In honor of National Clam Chowder Day I thought I would share my recipe for a truly "Happy Clam" Chowder which is featured in Going Vegan, which I co-wrote with Gerrie Lynn Adams.  No clams were harmed in the making of this chowder, yet this hearty soup is full of all of the seafood-y flavor one would expect from this classic soup.  If you want to get extra fancy, make up a batch of my virtually indestructable bread bowls to serve it up.

And in honor of the clams, I am giving away a copy of Going Vegan to one reader anywhere in the world.  Simply follow the prompts in the widget at the end of this post.

New England Can Kiss My Clam Chowder
Get ready for weird folks.  I was so excited when putting this recipe together.  I came up with the idea when I was making the Tu-not Salad (also from Going Vegan page 112) and while the jackfruit was boiling in the broth and seaweed, I kept thinking it smells like clam chowder!  So here is my very strange, and very tasty clam chowder, complete with seitan clams!  (It is a lengthy recipe, about 2 hours) but a lot of that is down time, and it only uses one pot, and one small bowl, so not too many dishes.)
*No added oil
*No added salt
*No added Sugar
*Soy Free
*Nut Free

1 ounce (28 g) dried seaweed (hijiki, wakame, kombu, dulse, kelp, anything but Nori), volume will vary depending on the type of seaweed you use
8 cups (1.88 L) vegetable broth
2 cups (470 ml) water
1 cup (235 ml) canned coconut milk
2 pounds (908 g) potatoes, cut into bite sized cubes (I used russets and leave the skin on, but feel free to peel yours if desired)
1 cup (160 g) diced white or yellow onion
1 cup (144 g) vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Add broth to a soup pot with a tight fitting lid.
Loosly tie seaweed in a satchel made from cheesecloth and place in the pot with the broth.
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer for one hour.
After 30 minutes, remove 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the broth and set aside to cool and make the seitan clams.
After the broth has simmered for one hour, add in the water, cubed potatoes, coconut milk, and diced onion.
Cover and continue to simmer, set timer for one hour.
While simmering, make your clams.
Add vital wheat gluten and pepper to a small bowl.
Add in reserved 1/2 cup (120 ml) of broth.
Work with your fingers until a nice dough ball is formed.  Let the doughball rest for five minutes.
Using a non-serrated knife, cut it into a gagillion little pieces.
Add the pieces to the broth, stir to make sure they are not all clumped together.
Cover and allow to simmer for the remainder of the hour (at this point there should be about 30 minutes left on the timer.) Return after 15 minutes to give it a good stir and prevent the clams from getting stuck to the bottom.
Once the timer goes off, remove from heat, and remove the lid.
Using a wooden spoon or a hand masher, break up the potatoes to thicken the soup.  (Don't worry about smashing the clams, they are pretty unsmashable.)

Yield: About 8 cups

PS
-If you use a very low sodium broth you may need to add a little salt to taste.  And if you are like me, a nice squirt of tabasco or sriracha always hits the spot in clam chowder!
-You can also make this soup gluten free by subbing king oyster mushrooms for the seitan clams.
-When choosing dried seaweed, you can use hijiki (my favorite for it's strong sea flavor), wakame, kombu, dulse, or kelp.  Pretty much any seaweed except nori, because nori will dissolve into a gelatinous mess.

Clam dough ball.

Clam pieces.  You can cut them smaller if desired.

New England Can Kiss My Clam Chowder from Going Vegan (page 92.)

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