Hoisin Duck and Pancake
Name me ten popular Chinese dishes I'll wait...was duck and pancake one of them? YES? I thought so. Whether you have ordered duck and pancake at a restaurant or from your local Chinese takeaway it's probably safe to say that you have had this dish on a few occasions if that is the case you would already know that this dish tends to be one of the most expensive thing on the menu! At the fancier restaurants, a pecking duck platter can cost you anywhere from £38 to £140!
If you want to know how I made this delicious crispy, sweet, and salty hoisin duck with soft steamed Chinese pancakes for under £10 follow the recipe below.
Ingredients | Makes 6-8 duck wraps
Duck :
2 Duck legs (462g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon Chinese 5 spice or enough to generously coat duck
1/2 Teaspoon Szechuan pepper grounded into a fine dust or black pepper (*warning Szechuan peppers causes a tingly sensation on the tongue)
2 Teaspoon hoisin sauce
Steamed Pancakes:
1 Cup plain/all-purpose flour + some for dusting
1/2 cup boiling water
Steamer or Steam basket
Garnish :
Thinly sliced cucumber
Thinly sliced spring onion
Hoisin sauce
Method | Prep: 20 minutes | Cook: 1 hr 20 minutes | Dough rest time: 30 minutes
1. Add flour and boiling water to a bowl, mix with a wooden spoon until roughly combined.
2. Transfer dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until a smooth ball forms. Cover dough with Clingfilm and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. *Be careful not to burn your hands.
3. Wash duck legs and pat dry with a paper towel and place the duck into a bowl. Add Chinese 5 spice, salt, and pepper. Using your hand rub the spice mix into the duck.
4. Transfer duck onto a wired rack and cook in the oven for 1hour at 180 degrees Celsius.
5. After 30 minutes of resting, remove pancake dough from Clingfilm and cut into 8 even balls. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin roll dough into super-thin circles.
6. On high heat, add water to a pot and place steamer on top *water should only fill half of the pot and, the water should not be touching the steamer.
7. Once water is at a rapid boil, add the first pancake to the steamer and cover lid.
8. After 1 minute add the second pancake and re-close steamer lid. Every minute repeat this process until all pancakes are in steamer. Once the last pancake is placed in the steamer allow all 8 pancakes to steam for an additional 3 minutes. Remove steamer from the pot and set aside.
9. After 1 hour of cooking, remove duck from oven. Using a spoon or pastry brush coat all sides of duck with hoisin sauce. Transfer duck back into the oven and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until fully cooked.
10. Allow the duck to rest for 10 minutes before shredding it into bite-sized pieces.
11. Transfer duck and pancake onto a platter with garnish and serve.
*Low-carb and gluten-free alternative: Replace pancake with baby gem lettuce.
