Step 1

Make the sauce by stirring soy sauce, sugar and 1/4 cup of water or broth together in a small bowl. Stir cornstarch and chilled water together in a small cup. Set aside.

Step 2

Drain the seitan and discard liquid. Place cornstarch into a medium bowl and add seitan strips. Toss to coat.

Step 3

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and place over medium-high heat. Add seitan in as even a layer as possible. Cook until strips are browned and crisp on bottoms, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook 4-5 minutes more, until strips are crispy on opposite sides. Remove seitan from skillet and transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.

Step 4

Lower heat to medium. Add garlic, ginger and dried chilies, if using, to skillet. Sauté 2 minutes, until very fragrant and chilies begin to darken a bit. Return seitan to skillet with sauce, cornstarch mixture and scallions. Flip a few times to coat, and cook just until sauce becomes very thick, about 2 minutes.

Step 5

Divide noodles or rice onto plates and top with seitan. Serve immediately.