Tea-smoked duck is a signature of Szechuan cuisine. The powerful smoke and rich meat is perfectly offset by the other hot and sour ingredients used in the region.
It is fairly simple to smoke duck at home; just be sure to use caution when handling hot pans and ensure you extinguish the tea before putting it in the bin.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 2 duck breasts, cured
- 200g of brown sugar
- 200g of rice
- 75g of tea
1
Line a wok with 2 layers of tin foil
2
Combine the brown sugar, rice and tea in the base of the wok and mix well
3
Place over a high heat
4
Wait for the mixture to smoke. This will take 2–3 minutes
5
When it is smoking heavily, place a wire rack on top of the wok and lay the duck breasts on top in the centre, skin side up
6
Reduce the heat and seal with foil
7
Smoke for 15 minutes
8
Remove the duck from the rack
9
Finish cooking the duck breasts in the oven if necessary
Serving suggestions
Smoked duck lends itself to a variety of dishes. Try Tong Chee Hwee’s tangy Duck salad, Matt Gillan’s Duck breast salad with burnt coconut pineapple and cashews or Adam Stokes’ Duck breast with orange, pine kernels and dandelion.
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