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Crispy Duck Cups with Sweet Plum Sauce | DonalSkehan.com
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Crispy Duck Cups with Sweet Plum Sauce

July 26

This dish is essentially a deconstructed version of the classic Chinese dish, Peking duck, but without the pancakes. The hero ingredient in this dish is the sweet plum sauce, a great grocery store cheat, which is made by simmering plums with sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and a hint of ginger. The duck is then cooked until it’s crisp and served in lettuce cups with the plum sauce drizzled on top. 

  • serves Serves 4
  • time 3 hours

Method

  1. 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170˚C fan/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
  2. 2. Mix the duck fat with the salt, Chinese 5 spice and white pepper and brush all over the bird.
  3. 3. Place the duck on a rack set over a tray and place into the oven to cook for 2 hours.
  4. 4. Whilst the duck cooks, make the glaze. Add the honey, light soy, dark soy and water into a small saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Turn down to low and cook for 15 - 20 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
  5. 5. To make the plum sauce, add the plums into a large saucepan and add the sugar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and chilli and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes until broken down. Blitz to a smooth sauce using a hand blender and set aside to cool.
  6. 6. Once the duck has been in the oven for 2 hours, remove from the oven and brush with the glaze. Place back into the oven for 10 minutes then brush again with the glaze, returning to the oven for a further 10 minutes until glossy and golden brown.
  7. 7. When the duck is cooked, shred with 2 forks and use it to fill your lettuce cups. Serve with the sweet plum sauce and shredded vegetables.

Ingredients

1 x whole duck

2 tbsp duck fat

2 tsp salt

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice

½ tsp ground white pepper 

For the glaze:

6 tbsp honey

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

100ml water

For the sweet plum sauce:

10 plums, de-stoned and roughly chopped 

6 tbsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 inch piece of ginger, finely grated

1 red chilli, finely diced

To serve:

Little gem lettuce leaves, separated into ‘cups’

3 spring onions, shredded

1 cucumber, deseeded and julienned