Five Spice Duck And Rice Vermicelli Soup 五香鴨片米粉湯

Since I still have some duck breasts I bought the other day, I decided to make a simple noodle dish with them. I made quite a robust broth using some duck bones and aromatic to go with the rich duck meat, the result was 3 completely empty bowls. Next time when you are getting a roast duck from the Chinese restaurant, do not get rid of the carcase, neck and wings as they make the most delicious stock. Use any noodles of your choice but I think rice vemercelli goes really well with this dish. The added preserved vegetable adds a wonderful dimension to the delicious broth.

serves 3 generously

you'll need;

2 duck breasts

1 packet of Jiang Xi rice vermicelli

a bunch of tatsoi (Asian greens that resemble a fan) or  Asian greens of your choice, blanched

2/3 cup of xue chai 雪菜 (preserved mustard greens)

2 spring onions, chopped

for the broth;

a knob of ginger, sliced

1/3 cup of light soy

dash of dark soy

dash of Chinese cooking wine

2 star anise

2 spring onion, white part only

3 cloves of garlic

1 tbs of black peppercorns

1 tbs of Sichuan peppercorns

1.5 l of water 

1 duck or chicken carcase, rubbed with five spice powder and salt and roast in an hot oven til golden

Place all broth ingredients in a pot and simmer for an hour. Add the preserved vegetables, check for seasonings.

Dry duck pieces with kitchen towels, cut little slits all over the skin. Rub with the five spice salt.

Fry duck breasts skin side down for 4 minutes then another minute on the other side, finish off in a 180 degress C oven for 6 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes and slice thinly. Meanwhile cook noodles according to the instructions on the packaging.

Place noodles and blanched vegetables in a bowl, ladle some hot broth over and top with some sliced duck pieces and chopped spring onions. Plenty of cut chillies or some chilli oil if you wish!

Use other type of noodles or vegetables if you wish, it will still be delicious!