Skip to main content

Sticky duck with Chinese pickled radishes

Ingredients

For the pickled radishes

  • 2 bunches radishes , sliced, leaves reserved (see below)
  • 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp low-salt soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced

For the duck

  • 1 tsp clear honey
  • 1 tbsp low-salt soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice wine
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp five spice powder
  • 2 duck breasts

For the radish leaves

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • leaves from 2 bunches radishes
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 tsp low-salt soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds

Method

  1. Put the radishes in a sieve over a bowl. Sprinkle with the caster sugar and 2 tsp salt, and leave for at least 30 mins or up to 1 hr. Make a dressing by mixing the vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and chilli together until the sugar dissolves. Gently press the radishes to release any liquid, then tip them into a bowl and pour over the dressing.
  2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. For the duck, mix the honey, soy, rice wine and vinegar in a small bowl. Slash the skin of the duck breasts and season with salt, pepper and the five-spice powder. Heat an ovenproof frying pan and cook the duck, skin-side down, for 5 mins until golden. Flip over, baste with the honey and soy mix, then put the pan in the oven for 15-20 mins, turning the breasts a couple of times to glaze the skin. Leave the duck in the pan to rest.
  3. For the radish leaves, heat the oil in a small wok, add the leaves and garlic, and stir-fry until the leaves are just wilted. Splash with soy, drizzle with sesame oil and scatter with sesame seeds. Serve the duck breasts whole or sliced – it’s up to you – with the pickled radishes and the stir-fried leaves.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Twice-cooked sticky duck

Ingredients For the duck 1 strip pared  orange  zest 6 duck legs 6 garlic cloves, smashed thumb-sized piece  ginger , sliced 1 ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder 100ml dark soy sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp golden caster sugar 50ml Shaohsing rice wine To glaze 1 tbsp  honey ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder To serve halved and sliced cucumber coriander leaves sliced  chilli cooked  rice Method The day before eating, tip all the ingredients for the duck into a pan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1 hr 30 mins until the duck is really tender (or a slow cooker for 4 hrs would be ideal). Remove the duck from the liquid, leave to cool, then chill in the fridge, uncovered. Chill the liquid separately too.  Can be done up to 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge, covered, or frozen for up to 3 months...

Coconut biscuits

  Coconut biscuits These amaretti-style coconut biscuits are a perfect sweet treat – and also free from dairy and gluten. Ingredients 150g/5½oz ground almonds 75g/2¾oz desiccated coconut, plus extra for coating 150g/5½oz caster sugar ¼ tsp salt 100g/3½oz egg whites (see recipe tip) 2 tsp icing sugar, for dusting Recipe tips Method Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper. Mix together the ground almonds, desiccated coconut, sugar and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Spoon the egg whites into the dry ingredients and fold in gently until you have a thick paste. Pour the extra coconut into a shallow dish. Roll out 12 balls from the paste and roll each one in the coconut. Place the balls on the baking tray, approximately 2cm/¾in apart, as they will expand while cooking. Dust lightly with the icing sugar and bake for 18–24 minutes until the coconut starts to b...

Battenberg cake

  Battenberg cake Battenberg cake is a true classic for afternoon tea. The Hairy Bikers' recipe makes it foolproof. Ingredients For the cake 175g/6oz softened butter, plus extra for greasing 175g/6oz golden caster sugar 3 free-range eggs 175g/6oz self-raising flour ½ tsp vanilla extract red food colouring paste For the covering 6 tbsp apricot jam 500g/1lb 2oz ready-made marzipan 2–3 tbsp icing sugar, for rolling. Method Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Grease a 20cm/8in square, loose-based cake tin with butter. Take a 30cm x 20cm/12in x 8in strip of baking parchment and make a 8cm/3in fold in the centre. This will create a division in the cake so that the two differently coloured sponges can be cooked at the same time. Line the tin with the baking parchment, keeping the division in the centre. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Transfer the batter to a bowl set on sc...