腐皮素雞素燒鴨 Bean Curd Sheet Vegan Chicken & Vegan Roast Duck

The first time I tried this delicious vegan ‘chicken’ made with tofu skin, I was a very young girl and was still living in Hong Kong. My parents had been to a temple and brought them back for us. They were made by their master - Shīfu, one of the venerables there.

第一次吃到這些用腐皮做的美味純素雞時，我還是一個非常年輕的女孩，當時尚住在香港。 我的父母是佛教徒，那天他們從寺院帶回來這些腐皮素雞，告訴我們那是由他們師父親手做的，師父是寺院裡的一位法師。

( 中文食譜在下面 For the Chinese recipe please scroll down)

The tofu skin chicken was so tender, succulent and tasty; we all loved them so much. And every time my mum and dad went to the temple, they would bring some back for us. I had to admit, as well as looking forward to hearing my parents’ spiritual messages and stories, the foods were what I was waiting for the most.

In my young mind, I was always curious, and couldn’t help but thinking, why the masters in the temple would advise us not to eat meat, but were still making food named after and made to taste like animals? My mum simply smiled and explained to me in the best way she could to a 10 year old. 

She said, “A long time ago, there was an Emperor in China, who was a Buddhist and didn’t eat meat himself. So when he had important guests visiting the palace, his chefs would come up with recipes that imitated meat dishes using vegetables, and gave those dishes names which the royal visitors were familiar with. The chefs’ recipes became so popular that lots of Buddhist temples started serving these delicious meals to their visitors ever since.” I thought that was such a brilliant story and history!

Fast forward many years later, as soon as I became a Buddhist and vegan myself, one of the first dishes I wanted to make for my husband, without a doubt, was this Beancurd Sheet Vegan Chicken & Vegan Roast Duck. To say he fell instantly head over heels in love with these “clever creations” was not an exaggeration!

I have tried many different types of beancurd sheets to make these dishes, and have found that the fresh frozen ones produce the best result. 

And what better time to serve these Vegan Chicken & Vegan Roast Duck than on a family reunion table, a special occasion or any celebration dinner to impress your family and friends.

The dehydrated or dried versions of the beancurd sheets have other uses for different dishes. If you want your tofu skin chicken to be tender, succulent and tasty, you definitely have to get the freshly frozen type I have shown in the video - found in the freezer section of the Chinese supermarket. If you can’t be sure which Chinese supermarket stocks them, give the store a call ahead of your visit to make sure they have it in stock to save you any time or disappointment.

腐皮雞很嫩，多汁可口，我們都非常喜歡。 每次爸媽去佛堂，都會帶一些回來給我們吃。 我不得不承認，除了喜歡聽到父母的佛學教導和故事之外，那些美味的食物才是我最期待的。

在我幼小的心靈裡，總是很好奇，不禁在想，為什麼寺院裡的師父都勸我們不要吃肉，卻還在做以動物的名字命名的食物呢？ 我媽媽只是微笑地，用令一個 10 歲孩子最能理解的方式向我解釋。

她說：「很久以前，中國有一位皇帝，他是佛教徒，自己不吃肉。 所以當他有重要的客人來宮時，他的廚師們都受命盡量想出用蔬菜模仿肉類菜餚的各式食譜，並給這些菜式取上客人所熟悉的名字。 廚師們的食譜非常受歡迎，以至許多佛教寺院從那時起，也開始為到訪的遊客們提供這些美味的素菜佳餚。」我聽到後很受感動，認為這真是一個了不起的歷史故事！

轉眼這麽多年過去了。當我自己成為佛教徒和素食者之後，我最想為先生做的素菜之一，毫無疑問，就是這道豆腐皮素雞和素烤鴨。 他吃過第一口之後，說他一下子就愛上了這些「 巧奪天工」的精美佳肴一點也不為過！

我試過用很多不同類型的豆腐皮來做這個菜，發現冷凍的鲜豆腐皮效果最好。

還有什麼比在家庭團聚餐桌、特殊場合或任何慶祝晚宴上為家人，或親友奉上這些素食雞肉和素食烤鴨更好的機會呢？一定可以給他們留下深刻印象。

脫水或乾制的豆腐皮還有其他用途，可用於不同的菜餚。 如果你想讓你的豆腐皮雞又嫩又多汁又好吃，那你一定要買我在視頻中展示的那種新鮮冷凍種類——在華人超市的冷凍區可以找到。 如果你不確定哪個中國超市有代理，可在到訪之前給他們打個電話，以確保他們有存貨才去，以免浪費時間或失望。

( 中文食譜在下面 For the Chinese recipe please scroll down)

Bean Curd Sheet Vegan Chicken & Vegan Roast Duck

Ingredients :

4 pieces fresh frozen bean curd (tofu) sheets

Oil for brushing and pan-frying

For the stock:

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp natural mushroom seasoning 

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp ground sand ginger (can be substituted with just ground ginger)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp vegan oyster sauce

3 cups boiling water

For the vegan duck:

1 tbsp vegan Peking Ducking sauce (we used the Lee Lum Kee brand)

Glaze sauce:

In a small deep dish, mix 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp vegan oyster sauce and 2 tbsp sesame oil together. You can simply drizzle it around the vegan chicken and vegan roast duck before serving.

Ginger and spring onion oil 

 (we don’t eat spring onions, but I made it for our daughter): 

Heat 3 tbsp oil in pan till hot, add 2 tbsp grated ginger and 2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions in to cook over medium high heat until the ginger and spring onions are done to your liking, keeping the oil relative hot all the way through. Season with salt to taste. 

You will also need:

2 x medium deep dishes which will fit inside the steamer

1 x large stock pot or a wok

Some small wooden sticks

1 x two tier steamer (you can steam separately if can only manage to do one at a time)

Method :

1. Take the beancurd sheet out from the freezer, leave at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Remove piece by piece from the pack carefully, keep 4 sheets to one side, and quickly fold up the rest and seal them in an air tight bag or container, put back in freezer for future use.
2. Fold each beancurd sheet in half into a half-moon shape, then fold inwards from both sides of the half-moon, and then fold it from the middle to form a rectangular shape. Use small wooden sticks to secure the top, middle and bottom, and stack them up as a little pile ready to use (Please refer to the video).
3. Brush the two medium deep dishes with oil. Fill bottom of the steamer with water and sit it on the stove, turn on to heat it until boiling point.
4. Add all of the seasonings from the stock into a large stock pot, then add the boiling water, stir to dissolve the seasoning and combine, leave to cool for couple minutes but not longer, as we’ll need the heat to soften and rehydrate the bean curd sheet. Add a lid to preserve temperature of the stock. Because if the soup is not hot, it will not be able to soften the beancurd sheet.
5. Submerge the whole folded sheet in the stock, turn it over a few times to ensure the whole sheet is soaked through, bathed in the stock completely and is becoming soft.
6. Carefully keep the soaked sheet in its folded shape. Remove the wooden sticks.  Fold and roll the sheet in towards the centre to become a long narrow rectangular shape. Squeeze out excess liquid. And that’s one piece of your tofu skin chicken/duck done. Place two each on the oiled dishes.
7. Use the small wooden sticks to secure the shape on both ends of the bean curd sheet rolls. Then use a fork to pierce some holes on the bean curd sheet rolls to prevent it from inflating during steaming.
8. Proceed to finish all 4 pieces. Put both dishes in the steamer when the water is boiled. Steam over high heat for 10 minutes.
9. When the steaming is complete, lift them out and let cool for at least an hour. If not using immediately, the beancurd sheet rolls can be covered and keep in the fridge over night. They will be in lots of liquid and appear to be very soft and fragile initially. Turn the rolls over a few times during the cool down period, let them absorb all the flavours and moisture from the stock. Eventually you will see the liquid has disappeared and the pieces becoming firmer and less wet.
10. We are using two of them as the steamed vegan chicken and two of them as vegan roast duck. 
11. Warm a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp oil, place the bean curd sheet duck inside the pan, turn gently to coat each piece in the oil to prevent from sticking. Brush a layer of vegan Peking duck sauce on top, turn over to pan fry over a medium low heat until golden and crispy, check often to avoid burning as the sugary sauce can brown easily. 
12. Once it has achieved the roasted duck colour and appearance, turn it over and brush the other side with sauce and pan-fry it the same way.
13. Once done, remove from heat and leave to cool for about 30 minutes. Then slice both the vegan chicken and vegan duck into about 2 cm pieces , arrange them on the plate. Brush some sesame oil over the “chicken” to add shine and flavour, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over. Garnish with oil and salt branched green vegetables.
14. And there you have it!  A traditional, simple, healthy and super delicious way to make Beancurd Sheet Vegan Chicken and Vegan Roast Duck.

腐皮素雞素燒鴨

材料：

新鮮冷凍豆腐皮 4 大張

刷油和煎鍋用油

高湯料 :

鹽 1 小匙

糖 1 小匙

天然蘑菇調味料 1 小匙

白胡椒粉 1 小匙

沙薑粉（可以用薑粉代替）1 小匙

麻油 1 小匙

生抽 1 小匙

純素蠔油 2 大匙

開水 3 杯

煎素鴨醬：

1  大匙純素北京烤鴨醬（我們用的是李林記品牌）

淋醬：

在一個小碗中，混合 2 大匙生抽、1 大匙純素蠔油和 2 大匙麻油。你可以簡單地在盤子內的素雞肉和素烤鴨周圍澆上淋醬作為蘸汁。

薑蔥油（我們不吃葱，這是為女兒準備的）：

在平底鍋中加熱 3 大匙油至熱，加入 2 大匙薑容和 2 大匙切碎的小蔥，以中高火烹調，直到薑和小蔥煮到您喜歡的熟度，一直保持油温。 加適當的鹽調味。

你還需要：

2 個中等深度的盤子，可以放在蒸籠裡

1 x 大湯鍋或炒鍋

一些小木簽

1 x 雙層蒸籠（如果你一次只能蒸一盤，可以分两次蒸）

做法 ：

1. 將腐皮從冷凍箱拿出，在室溫下放置約 30 分鐘。 剪開包裝，小心取出 4 張放在一旁，然後快速折疊其餘剩下的，用原有剪開的袋子包密，放回冰箱以備將來使用。
2. 把每張圓片腐皮對折成半月形，然後從半月形两邊向內折，再從中間折起成長方型。上、中、下用小木簽固定，每塊疊起來備用 (請參考視頻影片)。
3. 在兩個有少許深度的盤子內刷上油。 蒸鍋底部注水，放在爐子上，開火加熱至沸點。
4. 將高湯料中的所有調味料加入大湯鍋中，然後加入沸水，攪拌溶解調味料並混合，可以待冷卻幾分鐘才操作，但不要待太久，因為我們需要熱的湯去軟化腐皮。加上鍋蓋以保存湯汁温度，因為假如湯汁不夠熱的話便軟化不了乾燥的腐皮。
5. 把折好的腐皮浸入高湯中，翻動幾下，確保整張腐皮都浸過濕透，在高湯中變軟。
6. 小心地把泡好的豆腐皮保持折疊的形狀。 然後從上下兩邊向中心折疊，再將下方部份捲到頂部，成為一個狹窄的長方形。 擠掉過多的湯汁。這就是一塊豆腐皮雞/鴨。 在塗油的两個盤子上各放兩塊。
7. 用小木簽固定頭、尾，然後用叉子在腐皮卷上紮一些洞，防止蒸的時候膨脹。
8. 繼續完成 件。 水開後，將兩盤都放入蒸鍋中。 大火蒸10分鐘。 
9. 蒸好後，取出放涼 1 小時。如不需要即時使用，可放進保鮮盒密封置冰箱存放過夜。 盤中會有很多湯汁，腐皮卷看起來非常柔軟和易破。 但只要在冷卻期間小心底面翻轉數次，讓它們吸收湯汁中的所有味道和水分。 最後你會看到液體都差不多消失去，腐皮卷變得較結實，不那麼濕了。
10. 我們用其中兩塊作為清蒸素雞，另外兩塊作為素烤鴨。 
11. 不粘鍋以中火燒熱，加入 1 湯匙油，把两塊腐皮卷放入鍋內，輕輕翻動，讓每塊都沾上油以防粘連。 在上面刷一層純素北京烤鴨醬，翻過來用中小火煎至金黃酥脆，檢查以免燒焦，因為含糖的醬汁很容易變成褐色。
12. 當腐皮卷呈現烤鴨的顏色和外觀後，將其翻過來，在另一面刷上醬汁，以同樣的方法也煎至金黃酥脆。
13. 完成後，熄火并靜置冷卻約 30 分鐘。然後分別把素雞和素鴨切成約 2 cm 的小塊，放回盤子裡。在 “雞肉”上刷一些麻油以增加光澤和美味，並撒上烤芝麻，排些用鹽油汆燙的青菜在两旁。在盤子內的素雞片和素烤鴨片周圍澆上淋醬作為蘸汁。
14. 就這樣！ 這两道傳統、簡單、健康和超級美味的腐皮素雞和素燒鴨的製作方法就完成了。