Chinese Crispy Duck 'n' Hoisin Pancakes

The chefs at my local take-out have got some serious explaining to do.

You see, I've ordered the crispy duck pancakes for as long as I can remember. 

I think of them as the ultimate comfort food decadence; a sweet & sour, crunchy but soft present, gift wrapped in silver foil and delivered to my front doorstep.

I always thought that those chefs slaved over my crispy duck for hours.

I've recently realised just how wrong I was.

My take on the dish is ten times more delicious than any peking duck I've ever ordered in & thanks to a few nifty short cuts, it can be on the dinner table in just 45 minutes. Minimal prep, minimal fuss, maximum deliciousness. To make enough for four people as a starter or a large main dish for two, you'll need to get yourself:

One large duck

A few packs of chinese pancakes, approx 20

6 chunky spring onions

1 cucumber 

1 jar of hoisin sauce

5 tbsp Chinese five spice

Preheat your oven to 200 and go catch your duck. Spread it out onto a large oven dish skin side up and generously sprinkle over your spice mix. Give it a rub, making sure the skin is generously coated, and pop it in the oven for 40 minutes.

Simple as that, duck done.

Whilst the bird's crisping up, slice your cucumber and spring onions into long, thin matchsticks. I like to remove the fleshy part of the cucumber to keep my wraps from going soggy. I do this by chopping it lengthways & scooping it out with a tea spoon.

Arrange your veg on a plate and leave it to chill in the fridge.

Depending on your knife skills, your duck should be just about done. Take it out of the oven, spoon over the fizzling juices and crank the temperature up to full whack.

Pop it back inside for another five to ten minutes or until charred and crispy all over.

Lay the table, pour the wine and fill a small bowl with a glug or two of your hoisin sauce. Grab your veggies from the fridge and take your duck back out of the oven.

Heat your pancakes in the microwave for 30 seconds until piping hot, and whilst your dinner guests salivate uncontrollably, shred the duck using two forks. I like to leave a few good chunks untouched just to prove that it really is homemade.

Hand out the pancakes, slap on your hoisin, sprinkle the greens & load up with duck.

Comforting, ridiculously easy and knocked up in no time at all. This has become an all time favourite Friday night supper in my household, a quacker of a recipe, if you will.



I'll leave you to fight amongst yourselves for those shards of crispy skin, but before I go, why should you never share a bathroom with a duck? Because it might be 'peking'!

Feeding Time At The Gate

When I've had a heavy night, the morning after means one thing and one thing only. Calories. And lots of 'em.

Nothing quite cleanses a wine-headache like a sunny day spent with the girls in a pub garden. But The Gate in Chorleywood isn't just any old pub garden. It's my favourite pub garden.

I first stumbled upon The Gate on one hazy, hungover morning on the hunt for said calories. To my pleasure, I found a beautifully simple patio filled with pretty candles, rickety chairs and tables, mismatching cutlery and most importantly, delicious food.

As you can see, none of us were feeling particularly perky. The waiter flung a few delicately laid out menus our way and we got searching. I went for the fresh orange and mango juice to get things goin'.

This was the only house red I would be sampling during this particular lunch time...

The menu offers a fair amount of choice, all of the usual pub garden trimmings, pastas, meat and potatoes, salads and posh sarnies.
Being horrendously wheat intolerant, I had to rule out the delicious, thin crust pizzas in favour of a crispy duck salad with shredded cucumber, a hoisin glaze and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

I can't say I was too put out.

I didn't stop there though, my friend.

These little babies were the main event. Homefried chunky chips dripping in a gooey, rich garlic mayo with just the right amount of ooomph to it. Served on the side of my salad, I didn't even feel naughty. I'd already eaten them up before I had the chance to, anyway.

The girls enjoyed taunting me with their pizzas, which were all tomotoey and chickeney and jalapenoey, just as any pizza worth it's crust should be.
Obviously my taste buds over ruled my common sense (and my stomach) and I treated myself to a sliver of Justine's, just to taste. The base is super thin and crunchy, so although I wouldn't recommend the wheat-free among us to order a pizza when cravings become too much, if you're gonna cave, cave at The Gate. It's almost worth the couple of stomach-spasm filled hours. Almost.

No need to book a table if you're popping in for a Saturday lunchtime seeing to, although they do get pretty busy on Sunday afternoons. To check out the menu or book online, visit the website.

So who wants to take me dancing on Friday night, so I can come back here on Saturday afternoon?