Recipe: Pancakes with Duck

The popular cooking duo Mas van Putten and Carl Lemette, known as De Vrouw met De Baard, combined their Indonesian roots and their travel experiences throughout America and Europe, bringing together the dishes inspired by them in a new cookbook; Asian Soul Food. The book is packed with the most delicious recipes made with the best ingredients, such as these addictively delicious pancakes with duck.

Mas and Carl: ‘This dish came about because our good friend Horas gave us 20 cans of French duck, confit de canard, as a gift, and because we love the Chinese pancakes used for Peking duck so much. For convenience, we always keep a packet of these wrappers in the freezer. Duck has a high umami content, so half the work is already done. And with 20 cans of duck, you’re willing to try an experiment. The result is a surprisingly flavourful and classic French-Chinese dish. The combination of crispy duck with spring onion, orange chilli sauce and the wafer-thin pancake is simply mouth-wateringly delicious. You can roll the duck into the pancake as in the recipe, but of course you can also serve it on a cracker or a lettuce leaf.’

How to make the pancakes with duck

Preparing the duck

• Preheat the oven to 175 ̊C.
• Line a baking tray with aluminium foil or baking paper (so you won’t have to clean so much later).
• Open the can, remove the duck meat and reserve the duck fat in a plastic container.
• Pull the duck completely apart and spread the meat over a baking tray. The idea is for the duck to lose its fat and for crispy meat to form. If we really have time, we place the duck skin separately on a baking tray. By leaving it in the oven a little longer later, it becomes deliciously crispy. We sprinkle these crispy pieces over the duck later for extra texture.
• Place the baking tray with the duck meat in the oven for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, remove the duck from the oven and drain off the fat. Repeat this three times or as often as necessary. After draining it for the last time, mix in 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce. Not too much—it should really remain just a hint. Also pay close attention to whether the duck retains the right texture. Crispy, but not too dry.

Preparing the sauce

• Put the orange juice and all the other sauce ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce the sauce by one third. Taste to see if you like it. Some people prefer more orange, while others want an extra hint of chilli sauce.

Serving

• Let the pancakes thaw; this happens very quickly. Allow the duck meat and sauce to cool to room temperature.
• As part of a catering service, we roll the pancakes up filled with duck meat, crispy skin, a spoonful of sauce and spring onion. But strips of cucumber are delicious too.
• For friends and family, we put all the ingredients on the table so everyone can roll their own pancake, in wonderfully convivial company.

Tip: don’t throw away the duck fat

In our household, throwing away duck fat is forbidden! Duck fat is rich in monounsaturated fats and contains plenty of linoleic acid. This is a fatty acid that keeps cells healthy, increases calcium absorption and supports kidney function. Above all, it is a delicious flavour enhancer. Fry or roast potatoes or chicken in it.

Title: Asian Soul Food
Author: Carl Lemette and Mas van Putten
Price: €20,-
Publisher: Spectrum

Read also:

• I tried Chinese mock duck from a can
• Recipe: Confit duck leg with lentils
• Recipe: Duck breast fillet with celery