Dec 06, 2021

Duck Wraps From Chef Kai

Duck is a traditional Chinese dish that has been eaten for centuries. When Nic was in China a few years ago he tried it out there and immediately fell in love, therefore constantly asking Chef Kai to show him a good way to prepare it here at home.

Simple enough, Kai has cooked plenty of duck in his time and has a variety of different dishes it can be used in, but to please Nic and what he was eating on the streets of Beijing everyday he went with his own variation of the traditional style wraps.

Crepes

1 Cup All Purpose Flour - Grainworks

1 Cup Whole Milk - Vital Green Farms

2 Eggs - Mans Organic

¼ teaspoon Salt - Township27

2 Tablespoons Clarified or Melted Butter - Vital Green Farms

Splash of Sesame Oil

Pickles

2-3 Carrots Julienned - Poplar Bluff Farms

¾ Cup White Wine Vinegar - Alchemist

1 Cup Water

1 Teaspoon Salt - Township27

½ Lime

1 tsp Coriander seeds

1 Garlic Clove - Lone Pine Colony

1 tsp Black Peppercorns - Township 27

Duck Breast

2 Duck Breasts - Lone Pine Colony

3 Tablespoons Butter - Vital Green Farms

2 Cloves Garlic - Lone Pine Colony

Salt - Township27

Black Pepper - Township 27

Wraps

1 Head Butter Leaf Lettuce - Fresh Flavor Farms

3 Mini Cucumbers - Various Producers

Small Bunch of Cilantro

1 Lime Sliced

2 Tablespoons of Peanut Satay Sauce - GR8 Thai Sauce

First thing is to prepare the Crepes:

Mix milk and flour in a large mixing bowl, gradually add the eggs one at a time and continue to whisk. Add salt and butter while continuing to stir until combined, and lastly add the splash of sesame oil, just enough for taste.

Let the batter rest in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Pickling the carrots is the next step:

We decided to do a quick pickle on the carrots to give a bit of additional flavour to our wraps.

Mix water and vinegar in a pot on low heat, add salt and pepper, crush garlic with your palm and add it to the mix. Increase heat and bring to a boil while squeezing in the juice of half a lime and the coriander seed.

Let this simmer for a few minutes while you julienne your carrots.

Strain the liquid over your julienned carrots in a container and seal in the fridge to cool.

Clean Duck Breasts:

Remove excess fat from the meaty side of the breast and the edges.

Cut away the tenderloin from the breast.

Flip the breast and score the fat, this is done in order to maintain the shape of the fat with the breast while cooking and to allow it to get crispy

Season the duck breasts heavily with salt and pepper, before adding to a hot pan with oil (fatty side down)

Cook duck until the fat begins to render and brown then flip.

Add butter and garlic and begin basting the duck breast by continuously spooning the melting butter over the meat.

While the duck is cooking begin the crepes:

Heat a pan with a small amount of oil, and pour a little amount of the batter onto the pan and swirl it around to create a thin layer.

Once bubbles begin to form on the crepe flip it and allow it to cook for another minute. Then remove the crepe from the pan and repeat for your desired amount of crepes.

The duck will be cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 135F.

Remove the breast from the pan and allow it to rest for 5-7 minutes.

While the duck is resting finish the rest of the mise en place:

Julienne your cucumbers, slice your lime into wedges, and pick apart the cilantro bunches.

Heat your Gr8 Thai Peanut Satay Sauce in a sauce pot until it becomes a smooth liquid texture.

Once the mise is complete the duck should have rested long enough, slice the breast and begin making your wraps with either lettuce or crepes.