Lunch / Dinner
Mock Duck Lo Mein with Cherry Hoisin Sauce
Vegetarian stir-fry doesn’t have to be just vegetables! Mock duck adds plenty of protein and tastes great when stir-fried with a cherry hoisin sauce mixture.
At first glance, this dish seems comparable to the stir-fries you’re probably familiar with, and it does contain a lot of traditional flavors — aromatics like ginger and garlic, sauces like hoisin and soy, and a variety of colorful vegetables. But you’ll quickly notice a few differences. The syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries adds fruity sweetness. And the beefy-looking meat is actually vegetarian mock duck.
If you aren’t familiar with mock duck, it’s wheat gluten or seitan [SAY-tan] that has a chewy, meat-like texture. You can use it in all sorts of dishes, and it’ll take on the tastes of the sauces and other ingredients it’s cooked with. Look for cans of braised wheat gluten or packages of seitan in the Asian section of grocery stores or at Asian markets. While you’re there, pick up some fresh Chinese noodles to serve the stir-fry over.
Ingredients
FOR THE NOODLES, WHISK:
PREPARE:
FOR THE STIR-FRY, WHISK:
HEAT:
ADD:
Test Kitchen Tip
The key to stir-fries is to have everything prepared and ready to be added quickly, so have all your “ducks” in a row, so to speak, before getting started.
Instructions
For the noodles, whisk together sugar, sherry, fish sauce, and 1 tsp. sesame oil; set aside. Whisk again just before using.
Prepare noodles according to package directions for stir-fry and drain. Drizzle noodles with 1–2 Tbsp. sesame oil to keep from clumping.
For the stir-fry, whisk together cherry syrup, hoisin, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha, and cornstarch.
Heat 2 Tbsp. peanut oil in a large wok or nonstick skillet over high until lightly smoking. Stir-fry mock duck until browned, 3 minutes. Remove mock duck from wok; keep warm.
Add scallions, garlic, and ginger to wok and stir-fry 30 seconds. Stir in onion, cabbage, snow peas, and carrots; stir-fry until beginning to soften, 3–5 minutes. Return mock duck to wok with hoisin mixture; stir-fry until sauce thickens, 2–3 minutes. Remove vegetables and mock duck from wok and wipe wok clean. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. peanut oil to wok.
Add noodles to wok and stirfry until heated through, about 1 minute. Add sherry mixture and stir-fry to coat, 1 minute.
Divide noodles evenly among serving plates; top with vegetable and mock duck mixture. Garnish servings with bean sprouts and sesame seeds.
For a sweet, fruity element, add syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries in with the other sauces.
Stir-fry the mock duck first until heated and browned, then stir-fry the veggies before combining them.
To heat the noodles before serving the stir-fry, toss them in the wok along with the sherry mixture.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per serving
Calories: 543
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g 33%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 6mg 2%
Sodium 1733mg 72%
Carbs 69g 23%
Fiber 5g 20%
Protein 17g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.