You don't have to miss out on Crispy Duck Pancakes, just because you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. These Vegan Crispy Duck Pancakes are made with mushrooms. Find out more below.

Mock duck

When we visited China back in 2017 I was pleasantly surprised with how much vegetarian (and even vegan food) was available. The key to finding veggie food was to look for restaurants near Buddhist temples. A Chinese Buddhist’s diet is vegetarian as its based on the Dharmic concept of ‘ahimsa‘ which means ‘non-violence’. Chinese Buddhist run restaurants have a fantastic range of dishes on the menu often including mock duck and other fake meats.

For more about my trip to China, you can read my posts on finding vegetarian food and what to expect when visiting during Chinese new year.

The art of making vegetarian food look like meat goes back hundreds of years in Chinese history. Wheat gluten, called miàn jīn (面筋, or “dough tendon”) is thought to have originated in ancient China as a meat substitute for Buddhists and Chinese emperors who would eat a vegetarian diet at certain times of the year. These days we call mock meat, that has been made from vital wheat gluten, "seitan".

I did consider making these Vegan Crispy Duck Pancakes with seitan but it is a lengthy process and lots of people don't like eating such realistic meat substitutes. So, I made my duck substitute with mushrooms instead!

Vegan Crispy Duck Pancakes made with mushrooms

Chinese Mushrooms

You can make this dish with whatever mushrooms you have to hand but there are certain varieties that I think work perfectly. The mushroom varieties I recommend are: shiitake mushroom, wood ear, oyster mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms. The reason they work well is because of their shape and texture. They shred well, have frilly bits that crispy up nicely and they have a meaty texture too.

If you live near an Asian supermarket you should be able to buy a good range of mushrooms. Some of the larger supermarkets in the UK will do "exotic" mushrooms selections too.

Preparing your vegetables

Whether you use duck or mushrooms, these pancakes are usually served with spring onion and cucumber that has been thinly sliced. You might sometimes see this technique referred to as "julienne". The "julienne" cut is actually a traditional French technique.

As with many traditional French cooking techniques there's the right way, then there's the easy way... If you julienne something using the traditional method you need to cut the vegetable into a square before uniformly cutting it into thin planks and then thin matchstick shapes. The "easy" method, or shortcut, is to cut the vegetables thinly, stacking these slices up and and then cutting them into thin strips. This is exactly how I slice my cucumber for these Vegan Crispy Duck Pancakes.

I learnt the trick to cutting spring onions really thin at The School of Wok in London. First you top and tail the spring onion. then you cut it i half length ways. With the inside of the spring onion facing up, you then start cutting it in thin strips, rolling the spring onion open as you go.

As with any fiddly knife techniques, make sure you have a sharp knife, keep your fingers away from the blade and go nice and slow. There's no point in rushing.

Chinese Steamed Pancakes from scratch

If you want to take your meal to the next level then why not make the steamed pancakes from scratch too!

Chinese Steamed Pancakes for crispy duck pancakes

The recipe