Gluten is used in vegetarian Chinese cooking to take the place of meat in recipes. Rather then resembling duck, this dish is cooked as duck would be cooked. You can make the gluten or use ready-made gluten – plain or shaped like pieces of duck.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
- 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 green capsicum (pepper), diced
- 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
Method:
Sift the flour into a bowl with salt and gradually add 560 ml (19 fl oz/2¼ cups) warm water to make a dough. Knead until smooth, then cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place for 55-60 minutes.
Rinse the dough under cold water and wash off all the starch by pulling, stretching and squeezing the dough with your hands. You should have about 300 g (11 oz) gluten after 10-15 minutes of washing and squeezing. Extract as much water as you can by squeezing the dough hard, then cut the dough into bite-size pieces. Dry thoroughly.
Toss the gluten in 1 tablespoon of the cornflour. Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot. Quickly stir-fry the gluten until it is browned all over, then remove from the wok. Stir-fry the capsicum until it starts to brown around the edges, then remove. Pour off any excess oil.
Add the stock, soy sauce, rice wine and sugar to the wok and bring to the boil. Return the gluten and capsicum and simmer for 1 minute.
Combine the remaining cornflour with enough water to make a paste, add to the sauce and simmer until thickened. Sprinkle with the sesame oil and serve.
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