One of the mock meats that has always been in my life since childhood has been the vegetarian seitan duck. Together with vegan char siew, this yummy chewy seitan is pretty much everywhere in Singapore. I really miss it now that I’m living on an island in the Philippines! So this one is for all the vegans and vegetarians who live in a place that doesn’t have an Asian grocer.
To make this seitan duck, you will need to be familiar with the WTF method. WTF or Wash The Flour is a method of making seitan or mock meat with flour. Find out more about WTF seitan at the Seitan Society website. If this is your first time doing WTF, watch this video by Greg Cook first.
You will need a good vegan chick’un stock powders to make this. My recommendations are Vigor & Health Vegetarian G Seasoning (sadly not as kinky as it sounds but extremely tasty) and Massel Premium Stock Powder Chicken Style. You can also use mushroom stock powder too.
This dish is slightly complicated so head to the instructions for more details.
What to do with all your excess starch water? Make Starch Water Spam Luncheon Meat or Vegan Bacon Fried Cabbage!
Ingredients
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Seitan
- Seitan Seasoning
- For Simmering
- For Braising
- Cornstarch slurry
Instructions
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Make the seitan
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Combine the flour and water and knead into a sexy round dough. The dough should not be sticky to your hands or the table/bowl and should bounce back slightly when pressed.
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Immerse the dough ball in a bowl of water and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours. (I normally do 6 hours or overnight.)
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Wash the dough until the water is only slightly cloudy. You will be tempted to stop here. This is the stage called "brains". Do not stop here, keep washing. The dough mass will fall apart and then come together again.
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Incorporate the seitan seasoning into your gluten mass. You may need to cut the mass up with scissors and massage violently. It's all good, the gluten loves a good rub. Rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours. (I normally do 6 hours or overnight.)
- Remove the gluten ball and squeeze gently to get all the moisture out. Save whatever juice you get for later. Braid and knot the gluten ball.
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Fry the gluten chop in oil on both sides, using a flat spatula to squash it down so it flattens.
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Add water enough to cover 3/4 of the chop. Include the extra seasoning juice from above and more chick'un powder. Make sure you simmer on low heat, so no crazy bubbles. Do this for 45 minutes, turning midway.
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Leave your seitan to rest. The longer you rest it, the firmer it will be. Resting time can range from 30 minutes to overnight.
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This is the left-over simmering stock and it looks and smells exactly like chicken stock. Save it for later!
On serving day
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Heat some sesame oil over medium heat and fry the cinnamon, star anise, and ginger.
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When the ginger starts to brown add the garlic. Fry until aromatic.
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Add water (including the left-over simmering stock), oyster sauce, dark and light soy sauce, and sugar and bring to boil.
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Add your seitan to the braising stock and leave to braise over low heat for 45 minutes.
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Remove the spices and the seitan duck from the stock.
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Add cornstarch slurry to thicken the stock into a sauce and reduce over medium heat.
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Slice your seitan duck and place over noods and some blanched veggies.
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Pour the sauce over and enjoy!
