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Sake-Cured Duck Breast with...Sake-Cured Duck Breast with Five-Spice Plum Reduction and Smoked Dashi Daikon

Name: Sake-Cured Duck Breast with Five-Spice Plum Reduction and Smoked Dashi Daikon
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Modern Asian
Ingredients: 2 large Moulard duck breasts (approx. 400g each), skin cross-hatch scored; 60 ml Junmai sake; 1 medium daikon radish, peeled and cut into 2.5cm thick rounds; 500 ml concentrated kombu-bonito dashi broth; 30 ml smoked shoyu (or quality Japanese dark soy sauce); 45 ml sweet mirin; 120 g ripe red plum or umeboshi plum purée; 2 g artisan Chinese five-spice powder; 50 g scallion greens, roughly chopped; 100 ml neutral grapeseed oil; 30 g cold unsalted butter, cubed; 10 g micro red shiso leaves for garnish

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Cuisine

Modern Asian

👥

Servings

⏱

Prep Time

40 mins

🍳

Cook Time

35 mins

⭐

Difficulty

Hard

An exquisite harmony of crisped, sake-cured duck breast glazed in a tart-sweet five-spice fermented plum gastrique, accompanied by tender dashi-braised daikon and vibrant scallion-chive oil.

Modern AsianHard

Ingredients

•2 large Moulard duck breasts (approx. 400g each), skin cross-hatch scored

•60 ml Junmai sake

•1 medium daikon radish, peeled and cut into 2.5cm thick rounds

•500 ml concentrated kombu-bonito dashi broth

•30 ml smoked shoyu (or quality Japanese dark soy sauce)

•45 ml sweet mirin

•120 g ripe red plum or umeboshi plum purée

•2 g artisan Chinese five-spice powder

•50 g scallion greens, roughly chopped

•100 ml neutral grapeseed oil

•30 g cold unsalted butter, cubed

•10 g micro red shiso leaves for garnish

Cooking Instructions

01
Rub the scored duck breasts with junmai sake and 5g fine sea salt; leave uncovered on a wire rack skin-side up in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to cure and dry the skin surface.
02
In a shallow saucepan, combine the dashi, smoked shoyu, and 15 ml mirin. Submerge the daikon rounds, bring to a gentle simmer, cover with an otoshibuta (drop-lid), and braise over low heat for 25 minutes until tender and translucent.
03
Blanch the scallion greens in boiling water for 10 seconds, immediately shock in an ice bath, squeeze dry, then blend with grapeseed oil on high for 2 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter to yield a clear, emerald-green herb oil.
04
Simmer the plum purée, remaining mirin, rice vinegar, and five-spice in a small saucier until reduced to a glossy, syrupy glaze; whisk in 15g cold butter off heat to mount.
05
Place the duck breasts skin-side down into a cold cast-iron skillet. Set heat to medium-low to gently render fat for 10-12 minutes until deeply golden and crisp. Flip, baste with remaining butter, and cook to 54°C (130°F) internal temperature. Rest on a board for 8 minutes.
06
Remove the braised daikon from the liquid and sear both cut faces briefly in duck fat in a smoking-hot skillet until edges are caramelized.
07
Carve the duck into thick diagonal medallions and brush generously with the spiced plum reduction. Plate alongside the caramelized daikon, dot with scallion oil, and garnish with micro red shiso.

Cooking Reviews

“

The Caprese Salad Skewers recipe was a triumph! I prepared them for a party's barbecue and everyone loved them. The basil was so aromatic, the mozzarella so fresh, and the skewers were the perfect size and an appropriate.

Michael Burns

July 1, 2023