This next course is juicy and full of flavour on the inside, and fresh and light on the outside. They can be a little messy to eat but are a very popular dish because they taste so delicious!
Ingredients
- Roast duck meat
- 1 iceberg lettuce
- 2 brown onions (or 1 large one)
- 3-4 stalks of celery
- 2 carrots
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- Dash of white pepper
- Dash of dark soy
- 1-2 tsp corn flour (in some water)
Let’s tackle the lettuce first. At the shops, make sure you pick a fairly solid iceberg lettuce. When you hold the lettuce, the leaves should be fairly firm and should not compress like a sponge. However, it also should not be too solid either; no bounce in the leaves means it is heavy and tightly packed, making it difficult to separate.
Flip the lettuce upside-down and remove the base with a small knife (be brutal here and really cut into the core of it). The base part of the leaves (the whiter end) are firmer, so work from there when separating. Discard the outer-most leaves as they are likely to be wilted.
Under a running tap (with cold water directed into the core of the lettuce), remove each leaf carefully. You will find the inner-most leaves very difficult to take apart as they are small and brittle. I usually don’t bother separating them and use them for something else like a salad. Gently shake off as much excess water as you can and stack them on a plate.
Tip: Soak the separated lettuce leaves in water for a few minutes to rehydrate and make them super-duper crispy. Having fresh, cold running water is best. You can also use scissors to trim the leaves (from the white end) to give them a neat and tidy appearance.
Remove the meat off the duck. Most of us would have done this before with roast chicken for sandwiches. You can chop up the duck in sections; it may help with removing the meat. Roughly chop the duck meat and set aside. Reserve the bones as they are required for the final course!
Finely dice the onion, celery and carrots. The carrot and celery should be in fairly small pieces as they can take longer cook.
In a wok or large pan, heat up a little oil on high heat. Add the onion to stir-fry for a little while, then immediately add in the celery and carrot. Stir-fry for another minute or two before adding the duck meat.
Mix in the oyster sauce, salt, sugar and pepper to season. The dark soy is optional, but a dash or two does give it a nice caramel colour. Add the diluted corn flour into the mixture and stir thoroughly and quickly to prevent lumps. This will thicken the mixture, making it easier to wrap up and eat. The filling is complete, so remove from the heat and dish it up.
To eat, place in a couple of tablespoons of the filling into a lettuce leaf and wrap up. You can add in some Hoisin sauce, or other things like nuts and fried noodles to give it some texture. I think they are nice without any additions, savoury and fresh.
Tip: It is easier to eat if you fold the softer, greener ends up and together to form a pouch and start eating from the crunchy white end.
You can make this whenever you want as a stand-alone dish, rather than as part of a Peking Duck course. Chicken works well as a substitute meat.
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Comments (2)
I think i've seen those nuts from somewhere :P
Looking good, was a very yummy dish!
Thanks. It' a pretty easy dish. Works great with chicken.