One of my all time favourite methods of cooking duck. I was shown this recipe in Australia by a Chinese chef, and I have made it so many times, slightly changing the recipe to suit my own personal taste and I am now very pleased to share with you my results. Hope you enjoy!!!
Tea smoking duck breasts not only adds a wonderful flavour to the duck it also removes most of the fat from under the skin, so in the final pan cooking you are left with a lovely crisp, roast duck like skin. You will need a wok with a rack and a lid for this recipe; these are available at Asian supermarkets.
This method can also be use for whole ducks as above, but for the home cook it is much easier to start with the breast first.
If you do wish to try the whole duck- Submerge the duck in a Chinese red braising stock (made from water, shoaxing sliced ginger,bulb of garlic, sliced through the centre,onions diced, light soy, dark soy, star anise, cinnamon sticks, dried orange peel and Chinese lump sugar), and cook at a low simmer for 35mins remove from the heat and allow the ducks to completely cool in the stock. Smoke the same as the duck breast but for 12mins smoking and 30mins resting without removing the lid> Then bone the duck and fry to order as for the breast.
Serves 4
4 x 200g duck breasts
Sea salt
Sesame oil
Chilli jam;
1 onion, finely diced
4 large red chillies, seeded and diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 piece of ginger, peeled and diced
10 ripe tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1tblsp red curry paste
50ml rice wine vinegar
150g caster sugar
25ml fish sauce
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2tblsp coriander, chopped
Tea smoking mixture;
100g Jasmine tea
100g brown sugar
100g un-cooked jasmine rice
Method;
For the chilli jam;
Place a pot onto the stove and add a little oil, add the onion and cook until golden. Add the chilli, garlic and ginger and cook for a further 5mins. Add the tomatoes and curry paste and cook until a thick paste is achieved.
In a separate pan add the vinegar and the sugar and cook to a very light syrup, remove from the heat and stir in the fish sauce, lime juice and zest and the coriander. Pour this into the tomato mixture and cook for a further 5mins, reduce the jam over a low heat, it should be glossy and thick.
Once cooled store the jam in an airtight container or a sterilised glass jar.
For the duck;
Bring a kettle of water to the boil. Trim the duck of any excess fat. Place the duck breasts, skin side up in a large strainer or cooling rack. Put the ducks over a sink and pour over the boiling water, you will see the skin tighten. Remove from the strainer and rub the duck breasts with sesame oil all over.
Place a wok on the stove. Cut a small circle of tin foil about 20 cm in diameter. Pull the sides up to form the shape of a bowl, place the tea smoking mix into the foil and place it on the bottom of the wok. Make sure the extraction fan is up full. Turn up the heat under the wok and once the mix starts to smoke add the rack, place the ducks on top and cover with a lid. Leave on the heat for 5mins, then remove from the heat, don’t lift the lid, allow the wok to cool and the smoke to slowly dissipate.
To complete the dish;
Remove the ducks from the wok and set aside. Place a large frying pan on the heat and add a little oil. When hot add the ducks skin side down and cook until the skin is very crisp. Turn over and cook for a further minute. Rest the duck breast for 3mins. Slice duck breast into thin slices and serve with dressed salad and chilli jam.
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