Orange plum duck

“The colours here are so vivid and, of course the delicious flavours mingle together, adding the noodles for longevity and happiness”

SERVES 4 INGREDIENTS

4 x 150g duck breast fillets, skin on 2 tsp five-spice powder

FOR THE GLAZE

2 tbsp honey

½ tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp plum sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

FOR THE SAUCE

1 tbsp butter

1cm fresh root ginger, grated

1 orange, zest and juice

3 tbsp honey

100ml vegetable stock

FOR THE VEGETABLES

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced

200g red cabbage, very finely sliced

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

50g rainbow chard, sliced

About 50ml vegetable stock

3 to 4 nests of egg noodles, cooked

METHOD

1 For the glaze, combine the honey, cumin, plum sauce and rice wine vinegar together in a bowl and mix well.

2 To prepare the duck, preheat the oven to 190°C/ fan 170°C/gas 5. Score the skin of each duck breast fillet with a sharp knife and rub over with the five-spice powder. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3 Place the duck, skin side down, into a cold frying pan and sauté on a medium heat until golden. By starting the duck breast fillets in a cold pan, this will extract the fat – so don’t rush it. Remove the duck fat from the pan from time to time. Transfer the duck breast onto a roasting tray, skin side up, brush generously with the glaze and place in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, basting from time to time, depending on your preferred doneness.

4 To make the sauce, heat the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the ginger, orange juice and zest and simmer for 2 minutes before adding the honey and stock. Simmer slowly for 2 to 3 minutes and set aside.

5 To prepare the vegetables, heat a little oil in a wok, then add the garlic and spring onions, stir-fry for 1 minute before adding the red cabbage and a little stock and cook until the cabbage has softened. Add the carrots and stir-fry for 2 minutes before adding the chard.

6 To serve, leave the duck breast fillets to rest for 4 minutes, covered in a warm place, then slice to serve. Add the cooked noodles to the stir-fried vegetables and spoon them onto a large serving platter, arrange slices of duck on top and spoon over some of the orange sauce. Serve the rest in a little bowl as the side.

TIP: if your preference is for a thicker sauce, loosen a teaspoon of cornflour with cold water and add to the hot sauce, stirring until the sauce thickens.