This delicious dish is a match for the classic French dish – duck a l’orange – but can be made in quick time on the frying pan
If you want to have a signature dish that will impress visiting relatives or friends, try this Japanese-inspired recipe.
Chef’s tip: It’s important to render the fat by cooking the duck skin-side down first, so that the skin colours until golden and becomes crisp. If you can’t get hold of sake, dry sherry or shaoxing wine makes a good swap here.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
4 duck breasts (around 675g/1½lb) total weight)
200ml (7fl oz/scant 1 cup) dry sake
4 tbsp light brown soft sugar
3 tbsp tamari soy sauce
5 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice – around 1 large orange
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
freshly ground black pepper
Method:
- Put the duck breasts on a board and use a sharp knife to score the fat in a crisscross pattern, taking care not to cut too deeply into the meat.
- Place the duck breasts, skin-side down, into a large, heavy-based frying pan (or on the teppan) and start to heat it. Place the pan over a low-medium heat and cook until the fat begins to render.
- Turn the heat up a notch and sauté the breasts until the skin is golden brown. Turn over and cook briefly for around 1–2 minutes.
- Remove the duck breasts from the pan and set them aside. Drain the duck fat into a jar for another use.
- Place the pan back onto the heat and add the sake and sugar. Bring to the boil to dissolve the sugar and cook off the alcohol. Simmer until the sake reduces by around a third. Add the soy sauce and orange juice, season with black pepper and stir together, simmering for around 1 minute more to cook everything together. Taste the sauce and if it seems too strong, add a splash of water. If it lacks flavour and tastes weak, add a splash of tamari.
- Add the duck back to the pan, skin-side up, and simmer while basting the skin until the duck breasts are cooked to your liking – they’re best served rosy pink.
- Remove the pan from the heat and lift the duck onto a board. Add half the spring onions to the sauce and stir in. Slice the duck into thin slices.
- Pour the sauce onto a platter, then arrange the duck on top and garnish with the remaining spring onions. Serve straightaway, on a bed of soba noodles, if you like.
This recipe first appeared in the print version of Irish Country Magazine and is extracted from Japanese Cooking For The Soul. Photography by Howard Shooter.
