Chris Baber’s five-spice hoisin duck and rice bowls recipe

“This is a mash-up of duck with hoisin sauce and roast Peking duck and rice,” says Chris Baber, author of new cookbook, Easy.

“Roasting a whole duck is a real art form and takes over a day to prep, so I’ve used duck breasts to keep this quick and simple. They stay super juicy and I think are best served pink.”

Five-spice hoisin duck and rice bowls

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

2tbsp dark soy sauce

2tbsp honey

2 duck breasts

2tsp Chinese five-spice

250g jasmine rice

½ cucumber, diced

4 spring onions, finely chopped

2tsp toasted sesame oil

2tbsp hoisin sauce

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce and honey to make a glaze. Set aside.

3. Use a sharp knife to score the skin of the duck in a chequerboard pattern. Be careful not to score into the flesh.

4. Pat the duck dry with kitchen paper. Season with salt and evenly coat in the Chinese five-spice.

5. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions.

6. Put the duck into a cold pan, skin-side down. Turn the heat to medium and cook for three to five minutes until the skin is golden and crispy. Turn the duck over. Pour over the glaze to evenly coat the duck.

7. If your pan is ovenproof, transfer it straight into the oven. If it’s not, put the duck on a preheated baking tray. Cook for eight to 10 minutes for blushing pink meat or slightly longer for well done.

8. Remove from the oven. Leave to rest for five minutes, then cut into thin slices.

Easy by Chris Baber is published by Ebury Press, priced £16.99. Photography by Haarala Hamilton. Available now.