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Sierra Lyricalia wrote:

Sauce: mix soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil in ratios to taste.
Garnishes: scallion, cucumber, thinly sliced
Acquire Chinese mushu/moo-shi pancakes, or do quick boil-and-pan-fry job on supermarket wonton skins (immediately before serving)

Day one: Slaughter duck. Dress, eviscerate, and rinse. Remove neck bone without breaking skin. Tie neck skin in knot or skewer shut. If buying duck from butcher shop, make sure skin is intact, especially over breast; air-chilled duck is better than ice-bath cooled duck, though latter will work. Rub skin surface with baking powder mixed with salt. Apply maltose/soy sauce coating to skin. Hang (or stick in fridge on a rack) overnight to dry.

Day two: Using fingers (aided by wooden spoon handle if necessary), gently dig under duck skin to separate skin from meat, leaving skin intact; include areas in and around joints. Blanch duck quickly in boiling water to re-tighten skin and begin rendering fat. Easiest way to do this is to lay duck on roasting rack or dishrack in sink, pour boiling water over it, flip, and pour rest of boiling water. Apply more maltose/soy mixture; if desired add spices to rub in as well (Chinese 5-spice powder, garlic, ginger are all suitable). Hang overnight to dry again.

Day three: Preheat oven to 450°. Weigh duck. Prop duck upright on vertical roaster or empty beer can stuck into body cavity. Place roaster in pan of water (¼ to ½ inch full). Roast at 450° until skin is brown, about 10-15 minutes; then lower oven temp to 350°. Rotate pan occasionally if necessary to ensure even heating/further browning of skin. Roast about 15 minutes per pound, until rendered fat from under skin has completely dripped out of duck, basting meat and rendering skin crackly crisp. Serve immediately.

Sierra Lyricalia wrote:

Duck is pretty much the least vegan-replicable meat there is, as far as I can tell. I mean, you can probably replicate most of the flavor of the meat itself, the way they do with e.g. the imitation lamb and beef that I've had in a vegan restaurant or two. But so much of what makes duck duck is the treatment of the skin. It's about the highest meltable-fat to meat ratio of any food animal I'm aware of,* so making something that will self-baste and then get the skin extra-crispy the way this recipe (and, say, confit) does requires some creativity.

I guess if they do make soy-sourced imitation duck (if not, turkey would be closest I think), you could set some aside to roast very slow and low and occasionally brush vegetable sourced fat of some kind over it; the ideal is to get it very thin and extra crispy. But I honestly don't have enough experience with vegan cooking to give you an authoritative response. I hope this is helpful anyway.

*in France they even sometimes cover a beefsteak in a large slab of duck skin to cook, so you can get a very well-done steak that is nevertheless still moist and juicy even though by all rights it should be indistinguishable from wood.

Sierra Lyricalia wrote:

Duck is pretty much the least vegan-replicable meat there is, as far as I can tell. I mean, you can probably replicate most of the flavor of the meat itself, the way they do with e.g. the imitation lamb and beef that I've had in a vegan restaurant or two. But so much of what makes duck duck is the treatment of the skin. It's about the highest meltable-fat to meat ratio of any food animal I'm aware of,* so making something that will self-baste and then get the skin extra-crispy the way this recipe (and, say, confit) does requires some creativity.

I guess if they do make soy-sourced imitation duck (if not, turkey would be closest I think), you could set some aside to roast very slow and low and occasionally brush vegetable sourced fat of some kind over it; the ideal is to get it very thin and extra crispy. But I honestly don't have enough experience with vegan cooking to give you an authoritative response. I hope this is helpful anyway.

*in France they even sometimes cover a beefsteak in a large slab of duck skin to cook, so you can get a very well-done steak that is nevertheless still moist and juicy even though by all rights it should be indistinguishable from wood.

Sierra Lyricalia wrote:

Duck is pretty much the least vegan-replicable meat there is, as far as I can tell. I mean, you can probably replicate most of the flavor of the meat itself, the way they do with e.g. the imitation lamb and beef that I've had in a vegan restaurant or two. But so much of what makes duck duck is the treatment of the skin. It's about the highest meltable-fat to meat ratio of any food animal I'm aware of,* so making something that will self-baste and then get the skin extra-crispy the way this recipe (and, say, confit) does requires some creativity.

I guess if they do make soy-sourced imitation duck (if not, turkey would be closest I think), you could set some aside to roast very slow and low and occasionally brush vegetable sourced fat of some kind over it; the ideal is to get it very thin and extra crispy. But I honestly don't have enough experience with vegan cooking to give you an authoritative response. I hope this is helpful anyway.

*in France they even sometimes cover a beefsteak in a large slab of duck skin to cook, so you can get a very well-done steak that is nevertheless still moist and juicy even though by all rights it should be indistinguishable from wood.