Soy curls add protein and a meaty texture to these Crispy Soy Curl Vegan 'Duck' Pancakes. 30-minutes to make. A kid-friendly weeknight dinner.
My kids' favorite vegan 'meat' is soy curls. Luckily, they're quick and easy to prepare, as well as budget-friendly. Their texture is just like chicken, and they readily take on the flavor of marinades and sauces.
This flavorful soy curls recipe is not only good for making vegan 'duck' pancakes. It's also delicious with rice or a different grain of your choice.
This dish was inspired by my Soy Curls in Creamy Peanut Sauce recipe on this site. Easy Vegan No-Chop Dumplings is another scrumptious finger food recipe, using rice paper as dumpling wrappers.
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👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
- Soy curls
- Hoisin sauce
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Maple syrup
- Toasted sesame oil
- White pepper
- Sesame oil
- Green onions
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Five spice powder
- Tellicherry or Szechuan black peppercorns (optional)
- Peking duck wrappers or coconut flour tortillas
- Cucumber
- Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
📖 Instructions
Soy curls come dry and need to be soaked before you can cook with them. Soak them in a colander inside a larger bowl of water for 10 minutes. Remove the colander from the bowl and use the bowl to press down on the soy curls to drain excess water.
Prepare the sauce while the soy curls are soaking.
Cook the soy curls in a large skillet in a single layer so they brown easily and do not steam. Remove the soy curls from the skillet and set aside.
Then cook the aromatics and flavor with five spice powder. Transfer the soy curls to the skillet before adding the sauce.
Serve your soy curls with rice, a different grain of your choice, or use them to make vegan 'duck' pancakes.
For Crispy Soy Curl Vegan 'Duck' Pancakes:
Top with more hoisin sauce, soy curls, sliced cucumber, and toasted sesame seeds.
🦆 Substitutions
- Peking duck wrappers - instead of Peking duck wrappers, you can use coconut flour tortillas
- Soy curls - substitute for extra firm tofu, pressed, and cut into 2-inch strips
🍚 Variations
- Vegan 'Duck' Buddha bowl: - Skip the pancakes and serve your soy curls with rice or quinoa, and crunchy, thinly sliced vegetables. Drizzle with hoisin sauce.
- Healthy: use lettuce wraps instead of pancakes
- Spicy - add 2 teaspoons sriracha or hot sauce to the sauce mixture
See this Cashew Tofu Lettuce Wraps recipe on my website!
🔪 Equipment
If you own an air-fryer, the soy curls can be air-fried with less oil instead of sautéing. They can also be baked if preferred.
Toss with a minimal amount of neutral cooking oil for both cooking methods. Air-fry at 400ºF for about 4 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Or bake at 400ºF for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
⏱ Storage
Refrigerate any remaining Crispy Soy Curl Vegan 'Duck' in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Add a little water when reheating to loosen the sauce. Add more hoisin sauce to taste.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
💡 Top tip
For minimal oil, omit the toasted sesame oil in the sauce and air-fry the soy curls.
Soy curls are protein strips made from whole soy beans. They are vegan, gluten-free, cholesterol-free, high in fiber, and minimally processed. Plus, they are versatile and easy to make, with a meaty texture similar to chicken.
Add them to stews, saucy dishes, stir-fries, wraps, sandwiches, fajitas, and tacos.
They can be hard to find in supermarkets, but are readily available on Amazon.
I buy Butler Soy Curls. They are made from one ingredient–non-GMO soy beans–with no additives or preservatives.
Store soy curls in a refrigerator or freezer to prevent them from going bad.
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📖 Recipe
Crispy Soy Curl Vegan 'Duck' Pancakes
Ingredients
- 8 ounces soy curls (or 1 packet Butler Soy Curls)
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegan Hoisin sauce plus more for pancakes
- ¼ cup plus 1 ½ teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
Other:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 large green onions thinly sliced crosswise
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
- Freshly ground Tellicherry or Szechuan black peppercorns to taste (optional)
For serving:
- 12 Peking duck wrappers or 8 coconut flour tortillas, or serve with rice
- 1 large cucumber julienned
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Soak the soy curls in water to cover by 2 inches for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain.
- Make the sauce: In a medium bowl, mix the Hoisin sauce, tamari, rice vinegar, maple syrup, tamarind (if using), and white pepper.
- Cook soy curls: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the soy curls in a single layer for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. (You may need to do this in batches.) Transfer to a dish and set aside.
- Cook the scallions for about 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more. Add the five spice and cook for 30 seconds.
- Combine and heat: Add back the soy curls, and the desired amount of sauce. Mix to combine and heat for about 2 minutes, or until warmed through.
- For serving: Spread Hoisin sauce taste on pancakes, top with soy curls, cucumbers, scallions, and sesame seeds.
Notes
- I used Butler brand soy curls for this recipe.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is an ESTIMATE only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe.
Belinda
How much soy curls do you use for the recipe?
Nisha Melvani
Sorry just added it. 8 ounces.
Morgan Miller
We’ve made this a few times now and love it! Thanks for the recipe!
Nisha Melvani
So glad you are enjoying it.Thank you for leaving a comment. Have a wonderful day.
Anne
Made this over the weekend and it was delicious!!! Thank you for a great recipe
Nisha Melvani
Yayyy. So happy it was a hit. Thanks for commenting.
Nancy
Made these last night. So delicious.
Nisha Melvani
So happy you liked them. Thanks for leaving a comment.