Читать книгу Food from the Sun - Neven Maguire - Страница 26

Serves 4

50g (2oz) loose jasmine tea leaves

50g (2oz) light muscovado sugar

50g (2oz) long-grain rice

4 x 225g (8oz) Barbary duck breasts, well trimmed, skin left on

4 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tsp sweet chilli sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

jasmine rice and Stir-fried Baby Pak Choi with Mushrooms (see page 128), to serve

spring onion, shreds of red chilli, to garnish the rice

Barbary duck is far less fatty than traditional English duck. For a really special occasion you could even experiment with game, such as guinea fowl or pheasant, for this recipe.

Scrunch the sides of a foil circle to make a container about 12.5cm (5in) in diameter. Mix the tea, sugar and rice, pour into the foil dish and place in the base of a wok with a tight-fitting lid. Using a sharp knife, lightly criss-cross the skin of each duck breast. Brush each one all over with a teaspoon of sesame oil and arrange on a rack that will fit in the wok. Don’t yet put the rack into the wok.

Place the wok (containing the tea) over a very high heat. When the tea starts smoking, add the rack of duck breasts. Cover with the lid and leave on the heat for 10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to look under the lid as the smoke will disperse and the duck won’t cook. If lots of smoke is escaping into your kitchen, or your smoke alarm goes off, turn the heat down a little.

After 10 minutes, remove the wok from the heat but still don’t lift the lid. Let it cool for 5 minutes and the smoke to dissipate slowly, then transfer the duck to a plate and allow to cool completely. It is now smoked and just needs a final cooking.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), gas mark 6. Heat a large ovenproof frying pan over a moderate heat. When the pan is hot, add the duck breasts, skin-side down, and cook for 1–2 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden brown.

Meanwhile, mix together the hoisin, sweet chilli and soy sauce in a small bowl. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off the excess fat. Brush the fillet side of each breast with a teaspoon of the hoisin mixture, then turn the fillets over so that they are skin-side up. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for another 5–6 minutes if you like your duck pink, a bit longer for well done.

Leave the duck to rest for a couple of minutes, then carve each breast on the diagonal and fan out on hot plates. Serve with a mound of pak choi and a bowl of jasmine rice. Scatter the rice with the spring onions and chilli shreds.