Crispy duck recipe

Peking duck or crispy aromatic duck are wonderfully enticing dishes to eat out at a Chinese restaurant. Crispy slices of slow roast duck, the fat all melted away to leave tender and succulent meat and crispy skin fragrant with spices. Served with pancakes and plum sauce it is a meal to savour, redolent of traditional Chinese cooking of the imperial Ming dynasty.

Cooking crispy Peking style duck at home is perfectly possible if you use a much simpler recipe and go for succulent duck breast cooked quickly to crisp the skin beautifully. You can enjoy all the flavours of Peking duck, though it’s hard to match the texture and depth of authentic crispy aromatic duck at home.

Recipe for Crispy Duck

Ingredients
2 duck breasts
1 tablespoon groundnut oil

For the crispy duck marinade:
2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry
4 tablespoons fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons ground Sichuan peppercorns
6 star anise
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoons dark soy sauce
pinch salt

For the plum duck sauce:
4 plums
100ml / ½ cup water
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 whole star anise
1 stick cinnamon
juice of 1 lime

Whisk all the marinade ingredients together well.

Score the skin of the duck breasts in a criss-cross pattern, then put into a bowl with the marinade and leave to marinate, covered with cling film, for about 25 minutes.

In a wok or frying pan, heat the groundnut oil until very hot then fry the duck, skin side down for about 5 minutes, until the skin is crisp and golden brown.

Put the duck onto a baking tray skin side up and roast in a preheated oven at 200C for 4 more minutes, or until it is cooked through.

While the duck is cooking make the plum duck sauce. Stone the plums and quarter them. Bring the water to boil in a small saucepan, then add the plums, sugar, honey, star anise and cinnamon and cook over a medium heat. Let it reduce to a sticky sauce then remove from the heat and strain. Stir in the lime juice.

Serve the crispy duck, with the sauce poured over, on a bed of noodles or salad.

Still hankering after authentic crispy aromatic duck? Enjoy it at Oriental Pearl restaurant in Nottingham.