I Try It So You Don’t Have To: Vegetarian Peking Roast Duck

I have to admit, I picked this can up at the store, thinking it was actual duck in a can.

 By the time I got to the register, I had realized that it was mock Peking duck, not the actual fowl I was hoping for. It was still interesting enough to give it a whirl. I have eaten seitan numerous times and never really thought of it as being seasoned to replace a specific item, in this case duck, but it has a meaty texture to it and seems to pick up whatever flavor you want in other applications, so it’s a decent meat alternative.

It is not a pretty product to look at, upon opening.

 But I was amused that they actually put the duck skin texture on it.

 It smelled like bread, which it is, for the most part. I didn’t smell much in the way of seasoning which was kind of surprising. I tore off a piece and gave it a taste. It had a rich, bready, wheat flavor and a chewy, meaty texture. If you have ever made bread you can almost see that this product shows the strands of gluten as they form in bread dough.

Again I was disappointed in the seasoning level; it was quite bland on its own.

I tossed it in a hot pan with a touch of sesame oil and some hoisin sauce to see what I could make out of this mock meat lump. After it got nicely browned and heated through, I went in for another taste.

Heat and seasoning made a lot of difference. It still tasted more like bread than other seitan products I have tried, but the extra flavoring was exactly what it needed. It took on a bit of crispiness from the high heat and the hoisin caramelizing, which gave it some nice contrast. If it were mixed in with some crispy stir-fried vegetables, it would be great.

It doesn’t resemble Peking duck in the slightest, but i’ll give Vegetarian Peking Roast Duck a “Try It,” especially if you are looking to cut some meat from your diet.