Saitan is prepared from wheat flour. It is an alternative to meat substitutes such as tofu. It is often used instead of meat in the Asian, vegetarian, buddist and macro-biotic cuisine.
Wheat protein is most popular in China, where it is considered to have been harvested for the first time, as well as in the kitchens of other Eastern and South-eastern Asian countries. In Asia, it is often found in restaurants serving mainly Buddhist customers who do not consume meat and who, however, like to eat versions of meat dishes.