Many of us will remember the distinctive taste of duck pancakes from our pre-vegan days, but did you know it’s possible to replicate this with plant-based ingredients? With more and more of us trying to save pennies amid the cost of living crisis, these vegan duck pancakes are meat-free and easy to make at home for your next vegan fakeaway recipe.

While the idea of “vegan duck” would have been unthinkable a few years ago, it’s now possible to create plant-based versions of pretty much any meat. This particular recipe comes from BOSH!, and is part of their new cooking MEAT, which features vegan recipes for many traditionally animal product-heavy dishes. BOSH! is made up of two UK-based chefs named Ian Theasby and Henry Firth.

“Our seventh book MEAT is a book that would have been impossible to write when we released our first book BOSH!, only five years ago,” they told Plant Based News. “Plant based food options have increased in ways we wouldn’t have thought possible when we first went vegan, almost nine years ago.”

What is vegan duck?

Vegan duck broadly refers to a plant-based food that has been made to replicate the taste and texture of duck. While it’s harder to find at supermarket than meat analogues like sausages and burgers, some stores do stock ready made plant-based duck products on their shelves. Alternatively, you can make your own vegan duck at home – and this recipe teaches you to do just that.

Jackfruit as a meat alternative

To create their plant-based duck, Theasby and Firth use jackfruit. Jackfruit has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years thanks to the rising popularity of veganism, vegetarianism, and flexitarianism. Jackfruit is a relative of figs and mulberries. It is thought to have originated in southwest India, but it grows in countries including the Philippines, East Indies, Malaysia, and Thailand. Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit there is, and it can grow up to three feet long.

Jackfruit contains a number of nutritional benefits. It features vitamins A and C, as well as fiber, riboflavin, protein, fibre, magnesium, and potassium.

It has a similar taste to mango and pineapple when eaten raw, but it’s hugely versatile when cooked. It’s often used as a meat alternative in dishes like curries and tacos thanks to its shredded meaty texture.

Where to buy jackfruit

Jackfruit is readily available in canned form in many supermarkets, and you can use this to create whatever vegan meat recipe you have in mind – including these vegan duck pancakes.

Vegan duck pancake recipe

This vegan fakeaway recipe serves two if you’re eating it for your main, or four if for a starter. It makes 12 pancakes. If you prefer, 600g of king oyster mushrooms can be used in the place of jackfruit. Simply swap them out and follow the same instructions.

Duck pancakes are our favorite starter. In fact, we don't think anything else comes close! Chinese five spiced jackfruit, roasted until super crispy, then mixed with hoisin sauce and orange juice for the perfect pancake filling. These beauties taste incredible piled up high with crunchy cucumber, spring onions, plum sauce, and coriander. The bite of the meat, the sweetness of the sauce, the freshness of the cucumber and spring onion all wrapped up in those delightful thin pancakes. They really are little tubes of heaven that we will NEVER get bored of. Make these, right now. You will not regret it, not one jot

5 from 1 vote

Servings

Ingredients

For the duck

1 400g tin jackfruit in water, or mock duck
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp chicken seasoning
2 tsp Chinese five-spice
pinch of sea salt

For the pancakes

1 medium cucumber
8 spring onions
handful of coriander
12 Chinese pancakes
2 tbsp plant-based plum sauce

For the sauce

1 tbsp tamari
1 heaped tsp shop-bought ginger and garlic paste
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
juice of 1/2 and orange

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C

First, prepare the duck

Drain and pat-dry the jackfruit, then place into a large baking tray and shred using two forks until it has a pulled-like consistency (remove any seeds – they look a little like cannellini beans)
Add the olive oil, toasted sesame oil, chicken seasoning, Chinese five-spice and salt
Mix well until all of the jackfruit is coated in the oil and roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes until cooked and crispy, tossing halfway through to ensure they are cooked evenly

Prepare the rest of the ingredients

Trim and halve the cucumber lengthways then scoop out the seeds with a spoon
Cut the two long halves into thirds and cut the thirds into fine matchstick
Trim and halve the spring onions lengthways, then cut into pieces the same length as the cucumber pieces
Chop the coriander

Cook the pancakes

Cook the Chinese pancakes according to the packet Instructions

Make the sauce

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth

Finish the duck

Once cooked, take the jackfruit out of the oven and mix through the sauce, ensuring all of the jackfruit is coated

Time to serve

Transfer the duck to a serving bowl
Transfer the prepared veggies to serving bowls and put the bowls on the table
Lay the duck, spring onions, cucumber, sesame seeds and coriander on top of the pancakes, drizzle over some plum sauce. Roll the pancakes up neatly and enjoy!

BOSH! MEAT: Over 100 Outrageously Tasty Recipes by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby (HQ,HarperCollins). RRP £22.00

If you loved this recipe, check out some more by BOSH! below: