Personal

Car Stuff

Extras

Duck spring rolls

From: By Ching-he Huang, www.channel5.com
Makes 8

2 x 300g/11oz duck breasts
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 spring onion, sliced
cornflour
8 x 14.5cm/53/4 inch square spring roll wrappers
groundnut oil for deep-frying
apricot and plum dipping sauce to serve (see below)
For the marinade
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon groundnut oil
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the duck and turn to coat, then leave to marinate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. Place the duck in a roasting tray (retain the marinade) and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin, then slice the duck and shred with your fingers.

Put the cooked duck into a bowl, add the hoisin sauce and spring onion and mix together well. Divide the duck mixture into eight portions.

Blend 1 tablespoon cornflour with 2 tablespoons hot water to make a paste. Take a spring roll wrapper and place it in front of you in the shape of a diamond. Place the duck filling horizontally across the middle of the wrapper, then brush each corner with the blended cornflour. Bring the two side corners over the filling to the middle. Bring the bottom corner up over the filling and continue rolling up to the top corner. Dab the top corner with more cornflour paste and press lightly to secure the spring roll. Continue in the same way until all the wrappers are filled.

Heat a wok over a high heat, then fill the wok to a third of its depth with groundnut oil. Heat the oil to 180ºC/350ºF or until a cube of bread dropped in turns golden brown in 15 seconds and floats to the surface.

Using a slotted spoon, slowly lower the spring rolls into the oil and cook until the outside is golden and crisp. Lift out and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

Put the reserved marinade into a small wok or pan and bring to the boil. Blend 1 teaspoon cornflour with 1 tablespoon cold water, add to the pan and stir to thicken for a dipping sauce.

Serve the spring rolls with the dipping sauce, or use bought plum sauce.

Ching's Tip: You can make the rolls 30 minutes in advance and keep in the fridge, but make sure the filling is not too wet and cover them to protect them from drying out.

APRICOT AND PLUM DIPPING SAUCE

100ml/31/2fl oz water
2 plums, quartered and stoned
50g/2oz dried apricots, chopped
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons runny honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
juice of 1/2 lime

Put the water into a small pan and bring to the boil. Add the plums, apricots, sugar, honey, cinnamon and star anise and cook until reduced to a sticky dipping sauce.

Take off the heat and stir in the lime juice.