Plant-Based Duck with Orange Sauce and Almond Rice

written by Julia

Wow, today we're cooking with an ingredient that you like to send us lots of questions about with lots of question marks: seitan. It's probably because of the preparation, as many recipes involve making seitan yourself and then processing it. You don't need any complicated ingredients for this, but you do need a sure instinct when it comes to steaming, frying or baking. If you're interested, we already have a few recipes for you on the blog, namely fried seitan and onions, a seitan roast and mini cordon bleu.

But today, it's going to be much easier and more relaxed because you can also buy ready-made seitan. On the one hand, it is available as a chunky „mock duck“ in tins, but there is also seitan in one piece that you can cut yourself, and that is exactly what we are doing today. Today, the seitan is cut into slices, seasoned and wrapped in rice paper so that it has a slightly crispy outer layer when fried. It is served with a deliciously fruity orange sauce and almond rice – a special but not at all complicated dish. Let's go through the individual components.

Seitan wrapped in rice paper: As already mentioned, I opted for seitan in one piece and cut it into large slices. It is then seasoned with a hearty sauce, for which you can find most of the ingredients in the supermarket. For the mushroom seasoning sauce in particular, you can pop into the Asian market – I love this sauce because it has so much hearty flavor and a great consistency for marinades, sauces or dips. The seitan is then wrapped in rice paper, and I spent the longest time in the test kitchen experimenting with this – is one layer enough, or is it better to use two layers of rice paper? And how much marinade, and therefore liquid, can the rice paper take in order to still get crispy when frying? Let me put it this way: with two layers of rice paper, the seitan becomes very crispy on the outside, but the rice paper layer is also a little harder to stick to the seitan and is, therefore, a little more difficult to slice. In the end, my favorite method was, therefore, to coat the seitan with the marinade beforehand, wrap it in a layer of rice paper, and fry it in oil - and preferably not over high heat so that it doesn't burn.

The orange sauce: However, vegan duck today is only as good as the orange sauce that goes with it. Generally speaking, sauces are often the secret star of the plate. Regarding the sauce, I dipped into French cuisine, where duck à l'orange is a well-known dish – but the marinade for the „duck“ would certainly be completely different there. Nevertheless, I took a closer look at the preparation of the orange sauce because it is not easy to cook a balanced sauce that still clearly calls for orange. Therefore, sugar, vegetable stock, and vegan butter are used as „counterparts,“ giving the sauce depth of flavor, counteracting the acidity with a little sweetness, and rounding it off. Simply delicious!

But what you need most of all for an orange sauce are the best oranges you can get. And by the best, we mean real oranges. You're probably wondering now: What do you mean, real oranges? We mean oranges that don't focus on standard norms such as uniform size, color, or shape but where taste and quality are paramount – and that's what you get from gebana. EU regulations mean that many oranges with an excellent taste are rejected immediately. Simply because they are not perfectly round, perfectly orange, and perfectly large – which is, of course, an absolutely senseless waste. At gebana, on the other hand, you get real organic oranges from over 50 farming families in Greece, who always receive a direct share of the sales. Their oranges are ultra-juicy and delicious and look just like real oranges – sometimes green, speckled, smaller, larger, or even a little scarred. You can stock up on oranges with a box because you get 13 kg (28.5 lb) of oranges delivered straight to your door. Don't worry, the oranges will keep for up to a month if stored correctly. With our code „gebanaundjagdwurst“ you get a €10 discount (with a minimum order value of €40) in their online shop

And if you already know that you would like several of these boxes over a few months, you can save even more. From three boxes, you get a 10% discount, and from four boxes, you get a 15% discount. The orange season runs from November to March. The oranges are delivered from January to March. The order deadline for the current January delivery is the 17th of January, 2024. You can find the deadlines for February and March at gebana.

The almond rice: Last but definitely not least is the rice. Some say that rice as a side dish is often rather dull. We don't think it is, but we still love to add a little extra ingredient to it. Today, it's roasted almonds that provide a little crunch. You could also use chopped herbs, a little citrus zest or chopped dried fruit.

Plant-Based Duck with Orange Sauce and Almond Rice

2 servings

50 minutes

Ingredients

For the seitan:

240 g (8.5 oz) seitan in one piece (cut into slices)
500 ml (2 cups) hot vegetable stock
2 tbsp soy sauce

For the marinade and „skin“:

4 large sheets of rice paper
6 tbsp Asian mushroom seasoning sauce (or vegan oyster sauce)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp mustard
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried thyme
0.25 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt
pepper
vegetable oil for frying

For the orange sauce:

2 shallots
4 oranges
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
200 ml (0.75 cup) orange juice
250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
50 g (0.5 stick) vegan butter
1 orange (zest)
salt
pepper
cornflour

For the almond rice:

150 g (0.75 cup) basmati rice
75 g (2.66 oz) sliced almonds

Instructions

For the seitan, first, bring the vegetable stock and soy sauce to the boil in a small pan. Simmer the seitan in thick slices for approximately 10 minutes to give them more flavor. Then remove it from the water and leave it to cool.
In the meantime, for the marinade, mix the mushroom seasoning sauce, soy sauce, olive oil, mustard and spices in a bowl. Then set aside.
For the sauce, peel and finely dice the shallots. Peel and fillet two of the oranges and set the fillets aside. Squeeze four of the oranges until you have 200 milliliters (0.75 cup) of orange juice. Grate the zest from the remaining orange and set aside.

Tip: Depending on the size and juiciness of your oranges, you may need more or fewer oranges for the juice.

Place the sugar, water and red wine vinegar together in a pan and heat until the sugar has melted. Add the diced shallots and sauté briefly until translucent. Add the freshly squeezed orange juice and vegetable stock. Bring the sauce to the boil once and then simmer over low heat until the remaining ingredients are ready.
In the meantime, prepare the rice in a pan or rice stove. At the same time, toast the sliced almonds in a grease-free pan until golden brown. Stir the almonds into the cooked rice.
Continue with the seitan. Turn the cooled side slices in the marinade. Keep the remaining marinade and set aside.
Soak a sheet of rice paper briefly in water and then place it on a clean work surface. Place a marinated side slice in the middle of the rice paper and wrap it in the paper. Repeat this step with all the side slices.
Fry the side slices in a pan with vegetable oil on both sides until they are browned on the outside and slightly crispy. If desired, you can brush them with the remaining marinade.
Finally, remove the orange sauce from the heat and stir in the vegan butter until it has melted. Add the orange fillets to the sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tip: If the sauce is not creamy at the end, you can thicken it with a little cornflour. To do this, mix the cornflour with a bit of water and add to the sauce. Then, mix thoroughly and simmer briefly until the sauce has the desired consistency.