Roasted Duck Breast, Xo Sauce, Carolina Gold Rice, Macadamia Purée by David Hawksworth

Duck is rich, and I wanted to make this dish as light as possible. Instead of a traditional sauce—like a reduction finished with butter—being in Vancouver, where our population is now almost a third Chinese, I thought of XO sauce. It’s very tasty and has good texture, a little heat, and some acidity too. It really works.

NO TE  In the restaurant we allow the duck to air dry for a few days, uncovered in the fridge; this helps the bird to retain more moisture when it cooks. You can prepare the XO sauce up to several days before serving; it helps the flavour to develop.

Serves 6

Macadamia Nut Purée
125g (1 cup) macadamia nuts, skin off
Salt
Splash Banyuls or champagne vinegar

XO Sauce
85g (5 Tbsp) brunoised bacon
150mL (⅔ cup) canola oil
30g (⅓ cup) dried shrimp, soaked and drained
30g (⅓ cup) dried scallops, soaked and drained
80g (½ cup) minced garlic
80g (½ cup) minced ginger
20g (1 Tbsp) tomato paste
15mL (1 Tbsp) Sriracha-style chili sauce
Fish sauce
Salt

Rice
1.5L (6 cups) water
3g (1 tsp) salt, plus more for seasoning
240g (1¼ cups) Carolina gold rice
30–45g (2–3 Tbsp) butter, cut in small cubes
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 sprig cilantro, finely sliced

Duck
large duck magrets (400–450g/ 14–16 oz each)
Sea salt

Garnish
6–12 pieces gai choy, cleaned, trimmed, and cut in half
15g (1 Tbsp) butter Sea salt

MACADAMIA NUT PURÉE
Preheat the oven to 160ºC (315ºF).  Place the nuts on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and toast until fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then transfer to a bowl. Cover with water (at least 10cm/4 in above the nuts; you should have double the volume of water as nuts) and soak in the fridge overnight.

The next day, drain the nuts and reserve the water. Blend the nuts on high speed for at least 5 minutes and up to 10 minutes, using as much water as required to form a smooth purée. Season with salt and a splash of vinegar. Set aside at room temperature.

XO SAUCE
Render the bacon until crispy in a medium pan over low heat, using a small amount of oil. Remove the bacon, but keep the fat in the pan. Add a bit more oil to the pan and fry the dried shrimp and scallops until slightly crispy. Remove the shrimp and scallops and return the pan to heat.

Once the pan starts smoking, add the remaining canola oil and caramelize the garlic and ginger. Add the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes. Return the shrimp, scallops, and bacon to the pan and add the chili sauce and any remaining oil. Let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes on very low heat, stirring often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.  Adjust the seasoning with fish sauce, salt, and more chili sauce as needed.

RICE 
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F).  Bring the water and salt to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over high heat. Add the rice, stir once, and as soon as the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the rice is just tender with no hard starch at its centre, about 15 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse thoroughly with cool water. Shake the colander to drain excess water.

Distribute the rice evenly on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and allow the rice to dry for about 5 minutes, gently turning from time to time with a spatula. Dot the rice with the butter and sprinkle with salt. Return the baking sheet to the oven and allow the rice to warm through, occasionally turning, until the butter has melted and the rice is hot, about 5 minutes. Mix in the onions and cilantro and keep the rice warm.

DUCK
Trim the excess fat around the duck magrets. With a sharp knife, score the skin of the magrets in a crosshatch pattern, making the squares as close together as possible without cutting into the meat. Set aside on paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

Season the duck magrets with salt on both sides. Place the duck breasts in a hot non- stick cast-iron pan (skin side down without any oil) over medium-low heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, moving from time to time (but not flipping) to ensure an even colouring and crisping of the skin, while continuously draining out the rendered fat.

Flip the magrets and cook for 3 minutes on the meat side. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, loosely covered with a piece of foil. When ready to serve, slice the magrets in 6mm (¼ in) slices. Season with sea salt.

GARNISH
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the gai choy for 1 minute, then quickly sauté in a hot frying pan with the butter and a pinch of salt. Transfer to paper towel to absorb excess fat.

Gently heat the XO sauce. Divide it between 6 serving plates. Smear the macadamia nut purée on the side. Place a portion of gai choy and rice on each plate. Add the duck slices.

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Hawksworth: The Cookbook
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