Ingredients

  • 2 Gressingham duck breasts
  • 3cm piece of fresh ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 carrot
  • 15 green beans
  • 6 spring onions, white and green part separated
  • 135g mung bean vermicelli (glass noodles)
  • 2 tbsp chilli bean paste
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp chopped preserved mustard greens
  • 1/2 tsp toasted and ground Sichuan peppercorns
  • Whole iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
  • Hoisin sauce

Method

  1. First render the duck fat. Remove the skin from the duck breasts, and cut it into 1 inch squares. Place these skin pieces into a small saucepan with 100ml cold water, cover with a lid, and cook over a medium to high heat for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for a further 5-10 minutes until the water evaporates and you see duck fat in the base of the pan.
  2. Whilst the fat renders prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cut the duck breast into half centimetre cubes. Set aside. Mince the ginger and garlic. Dice the carrot and green beans, and whites of the spring onion so they are the same size as the duck pieces.
  3. In a saucepan, boil the mung bean vermicelli for 6 minutes until cooked. Rinse well with cold water and set aside.
  4. Measure 3 tbsp of the rendered duck fat into a frying pan. Refrigerate the remainder to use in another meal. Over a medium heat, cook the ginger, garlic and chilli bean paste until fragrant. Stir in the carrot, green beans, whites of the spring onions and cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Add the sugar, dark soy sauce, mustard greens and Sichuan pepper and simmer for a further few minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the duck. Stir fry quickly until cooked.
  6. To serve, put everything in the centre of the table: the stir fried duck garnished with sliced spring onion greens, a bowl of the mung bean vermicelli and a plate of iceberg lettuce. Everyone can fill their own lettuce cups. First with noodles, then a spoon of the duck mixture and little hoisin sauce. Enjoy!