Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals Crispy Duck Hoi Sin Lettuce Parcels

Today is day 4 of the Jamie Oliver challenge.

So I thought I had cashew nuts in the pantry, but then as I was getting all my ingredients out, I realised I had none. It turns out that what I thought were cashew nuts were in fact peanuts. I made the mistake of only glancing at my pantry rather than thoroughly looking at the packaging when I was putting my shopping list together. Oh well! I guess there'll be no cashews in my dish then. The recipe also called for silken tofu but I mistakenly bought firm tofu which still worked out okay. I actually felt it was better since they held their shape better once I sliced them up. I also made a few modifications to this recipe to suit our tastebuds- like omitting the radishes and cress and tossing the hoi sin sauce with the duck in the pan rather than drizzling it over the top. I found this dish easy enough to prepare. It was a bit messy to eat, but it was very yummy and tasty, and is a modern twist on san choy bow.

Recipe adapted from Jamie's 15 Minute Meals, page 54

Serves 4
738 calories

Parcels
4 nests of fine egg noodles
1 large iceberg lettuce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons hoi sin sauce
3 limes
1 clove of garlic
300g silken/firm tofu
5 sprigs of fresh coriander
sweet chilli sauce

Duck
2 x 200g duck breasts, skin on
1 heaped teaspoon Chinese five-spice
olive oil
1 fresh red chilli (optional)
2 spring onions
1 handful of cashew nuts
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon runny honey

*Ingredients out * Kettle boiled * Small lidded pan, medium heat *Large frying pan, medium heat

Method

Put the noodles into the small pan and cover with boiling water and the lid. Cut the duck into 1cm dice, toss with salt, pepper and the five-spice, then put into the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toss regularly. Cut the lettuces in half through the stalk, remove the stalk, then separate the leaves into cups and arrange on a large clean tray or platter.

Drain the noodles and toss with the sesame oil, then divide them between the lettuce cups. Finely slice the chilli and trimmed spring onions. When the duck is nice and golden, pour away any excess fat, then stir in the chilli, spring onions, cashews and sesame seeds, and toss regularly.

Put the hoi sin sauce into a bowl, squeeze in the juice from 3 limes, squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher and mix together. Drizzle the duck with the honey, shake the pan to coat, then tip it evenly over the lettuce cups. Cut the tofu into rough 2cm chunks and sprinkle it in and around the lettuce cups. Scatter over the baby radishes and coriander leaves, then snip over the cress. Drizzle the hoi sin dressing over everything from a height and drizzle each piece of tofu with a little sweet chilli sauce. Serve with lime wedges.

Thai Red Duck Curry with Pineapple & Lychees

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-2 tablespoons red curry paste
250ml chicken stock
270ml coconut cream
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown or palm sugar
1 small red capsicum, seeded and chopped into 2cm pieces
¾ cup chopped fresh pineapple, cut into 2cm pieces
½ cup fresh or canned lychees, halved
10 cherry or grape tomatoes
2 duck breasts, trimmed
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons whole Thai basil leaves
½ teaspoon finely shredded Kaffir lime leaves
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the curry paste and stir fry for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken stock, coconut cream, fish sauce and brown sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Add the capsicum and cook for 2 minutes then add the pineapple, lychees and tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook the duck breasts for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden brown and cooked to your liking. Remove from heat and drain on paper towel. Cover and keep warm. (Rest the duck)
3. Thickly slice the duck. Stir lime juice through red curry mixture and divide among serving bowls. Top with duck and sprinkle with basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves. Serve with rice.

Notes & Tips

You can substitute duck breasts with ½ Chinese barbecue duck. Remove skin and bones, shred the flesh and place on an oven tray. Place in a 180°C oven and cook for 10 minutes or until duck is warmed through.

To help release the fat from duck breasts, prick skin all over with a fork before adding to the pan.

Roast Duck with Fruit Sauce

I haven't had to cook much these last couple of days since I had so much food left over in my fridge from Chinese New Year celebrations. It's a great time to feast for us Asians :)

This roast duck with fruit sauce was a dish that I made for new year's to bring over to my sister-in-law's place. It's quite simple to put together- all you have to do is buy the roast duck from a Chinese BBQ shop and then make the sauce to pour over the top of the duck. This dish is great to bring as a pot luck dish to any occasion, especially if you're a bit pressed for time. Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Ingredients

1 whole roast duck, cut into pieces
2 oranges, cut into segments
1 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon honey
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
½ cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon water
425g can lychees in syrup, drained
225g can pineapple pieces in syrup, drained

Method

1. Combine orange juice, honey, lemon juice, soy sauces, stock and blended cornflour and water in a small pot. Stir constantly over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens.
2. Stir in lychees, pineapple and oranges when sauce has cooled slightly.
3. Arrange chopped roast duck pieces on a platter. Pour the fruit sauce over the top when ready to be served.