Spicy Seitan and Brussels Sprouts, Bhutanese Red Rice (No Added Fat)

My daughter loved yesterday's dhal so much that she wanted to eat that for dinner. Easy - I just heated it up. That gave me the opportunity to make a spicy main course.

I found the biggest pineapples I've ever seen a few days ago at a local cooperative market (Weaver Street Market). We quickly finished one, but a second one remains. I thought it might be good to make a simple dish with just seitan, pineapple, and maybe jerk seasoning. Instead, I decided to cook seitan with Brussels sprouts and jalapeno, and sweeten it a bit with citrus. Here is what I did:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups frozen Brussels sprouts (for ease; fresh could be used after trimming outer leaves and then cutting off very end and gently pressing an "X" maybe 1/16" into the bottom, then steaming and just mixing in to the finished dish)
• 2 medium carrots cut into 3/8" slices (1 1/2 cup or so)
• 8 ounces seitan (any reasonable cut would do; I used strips maybe 1/2" x 1 1/4")
• Medium green tomato cut into 3/8" cubes (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely (< 1/4") diced (about 2 T)
• 1 T finely (1/8") diced ginger
• Medium seedless tangerine, peeled, then cut into 3/8" cubes
• 3 T water
• 1/2 c onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• (optional) 1/8 t (or to taste) lemon pepper
• 1/2 t tarragon
• 1/4 t (or to taste) salt

Process

1. I put all of the ingredients, except the lemon pepper, tarragon, and salt, into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 3 minutes on low pressure.
2. When I was ready to serve, I slowly released pressure and carefully opened the Instant Pot.
3. I then mixed in the remaining three ingredients.

I also made some Bhutanese Red rice (1 part rice to 1 1/2 parts water and vegan bouillon cube, but I went with a moister 1 3/4 parts water, as I usually do; I also started with a sauté of onion and garlic, and cooked with a bit of salt, turmeric, and ground cumin). English cucumber slices completed the meal.

Results

Dinner was good. My wife loved the main course; I liked it. I would have liked the Brussels sprouts and maybe even carrots to have been cooked a bit less.

Ideas for the future

The citrus was a good idea, but I wonder if it would have been better as juice instead of pieces of fruit. I should try just 2 minutes or possibly even merely 1 minute of low-pressure cooking.