Duck sang choy bao

A delicious starter that can be prepared in advance. For a less expensive version use 400g pork mince instead of the duck. Season and cook the mince in a frying pan until lightly browned and cooked through, then mix into ginger, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and chives as you would with the cooked duck.

Serves 8

as a starter Ready in 40

minutes

2 duck breasts, skin on salt and pepper

1 tsp fivespice powder

1 Tbsp neutral oil

2 spring onions, green and white stems,

finely shredded lengthwise

1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

1⁄4 cup oyster sauce

1 tsp hoisin sauce

2 Tbsp finely chopped Chinese or

plain chives

2 cups bean sprouts

1⁄4 cup torn coriander leaves

2 baby cos or little gem lettuces,

about 24 leaves

Method

Score duck skin deeply with a sharp knife in a crisscross pattern and season on both sides with fivespice powder, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a heavybased frying pan and cook duck, skinside down, over a medium heat until fat has rendered out, skin is crispy and the edges of the meat are just starting to change colour (1012 minutes). Keep an eye on it and reduce heat if the skin is becoming too brown. Turn duck over, turn off heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes (the heat of the fat will be enough to finish cooking). Lift out and drain on paper towels. Reserve fat from pan and store in the fridge, it will keep for months and is without a doubt the best fat to use for crispy roast potatoes.

While duck cooks, place shredded spring onions in a bowl of iced water to curl. Finely chop duck into a serving bowl and mix in ginger, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and chives.

To serve

Place bean sprouts and coriander in a bowl and top with drained spring onion curls. Separate lettuce leaves and arrange on a platter with the bowls of salad and chopped duck.

Serve a spoonful of duck in each lettuce cup and top with bean sprout salad.