Chinese · Dessert
Pancakes
The full carve-and-wrap ceremony from a breast, not a whole bird — honey-vinegar lacquer, glass skin, warm pancakes
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- Duck breasts, large — 4 (800 g)
- Honey — 40 g
- Red wine vinegar — 30 ml
- Dark soy — 10 ml
- Five-spice — 3 g
- Fine salt — 6 g
- Plain flour — 200 g
- Boiling water — 110 ml
- Toasted sesame oil — 10 ml
- Hoisin — 60 g
- Plum jam — 30 g
- Cucumber, batons — 150 g
- Spring onions, julienne — 60 g
Method
- Score duck skin finely; pour boiling water over the skin, dry, then paint with honey, vinegar, dark soy and five-spice.
- Refrigerate uncovered, skin-up, 12–24 hours until the skin is dry and tacky.
- Knead flour with boiling water 4 minutes; rest 30 minutes. Roll paired, sesame-oiled balls into thin discs; dry-fry at 180°C for 40 seconds a side and peel apart into two pancakes each.
- Salt the duck; render skin-down from cold to medium heat 12 minutes until deep amber and thin.
- Roast at 190°C for 5–6 minutes to 56°C; rest 6 minutes.
- Warm hoisin with plum jam. Slice duck thin at the table; steam pancakes 2 minutes to refresh.