Vegetarian Ribs

In a large bowl, stir together the gluten, yeast, paprika and salt.

Pour in the water all at once and quickly mix with a sturdy spoon.

Additional water may be necessary to moisten all of the dry gluten.

Don't worry that the ball is rather solid, it is supposed to be. Pour

off any excess water.

If you want your ribs chewy, leave the ball just as it is. If you want it

slightly less chewy, remove it from the bowl and knead for 1 to 2

minutes on a clean surface. Return it to the bowl, and coat with

smooth peanut butter. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir

until golden brown. Remove from the heat. Pour the onion and oil

over the ball of gluten. Poke a few times with a chopstick, knife or

even a fork, allowing the oil to soak into the ball. Let cool.

When the ball is just warm enough to be manageable, use your

hands to mix the oil and onions in. There will be a lot of oil that will

not mix in and tiny pieces of gluten that will not stay attached.

That's okay. The oil mainly helps the gluten absorb the spice. Just

mix as much as you can.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Break off good sized handfuls of dough and shape them into strips

by pulling and twisting. You want them to be about 4 inches long

and 1/2 inch thick. Don't try cutting these, or rolling them out, as

that will make them behave more like bread and change the texture

appreciably. Place the strips on a greased baking sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven

and coat each piece liberally with barbeque sauce. Return to the

oven for another 10 minutes.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Chinese