Thursday, April 16, 2015

Experimental Cookery 2015 #14: Shredded Duck Wraps with Hoisin Sauce and Chinese Pancakes

Today's entry is a two-for-one: the Shredded Duck comes from "The Hairy Dieters: Eat For Life", while the Chinese Pancakes came from this recipe (largely because I wasn't able to buy the pancakes and so had to make them). Lady Chocolat didn't let me count those as a separate "Experimental Cookery", so I'm still one behind.

The process for the shredded duck could have been easier, but not by much. It was mostly just a matter of poaching the duck for a full hour in a broth made with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and a new ingredient - star anise! Obviously, the use of the new ingredient was very exciting, especially since I've had it sitting in the cupboard forever, just waiting for this day.

Beyond that, it was a matter of slicing some spring onions and some cucumber, and spooning some hoisin sauce into a serving bowl. Nothing to it, really.

The pancakes were a little more fiddly, especially as they kept sticking to the board when I tried to roll them out. Plus, we don't have a proper steamer, so I had to make do with a collander and a tea-towel. Which was mostly fine.

The end result was very good - much like the store-bought kits we've had in the past, but rather better by virtue of being home cooked rather than reheated (the latter draining moisture from it). So, a success.

In future, though, I think I'm going to try (again) to source some Asian pancakes from somewhere, as making these was a bit more hassle than it was really worth.

This Week's Mug: Still on holiday, so once again no mug anecdote. Normal service will resume on Monday.

#16: "A Prayer for Owen Meany", by John Irving (a book from The List)

1 comment:

Kezzie said...

MMM, sounds reallllllly nice! I love duck pancakes!