Flavoured with soy sauce, honey, Chinese five spice and chilli, this Chinese Style Duck and Plum Traybake tastes really decadent, but is actually a complete doddle to make.
I have been wanting to create a duck traybake for ages – but what to put with it? Then the idea struck me…duck works so well with plum sauce and Asian flavours – why not use these as a basis for a traybake. It took a bit of experimenting to get this right, but I am really pleased with the result. It feels really festive too, but is in fact incredibly easy…it’s a great one to make if you are entertaining over the Christmas period.
The duck and plums are flavoured with a delicious sauce of orange juice, soy sauce, honey, Chinese five spice and chilli and simply roasted in the oven. I chose to serve mine on a simple bed of mashed potato, but you could equally well serve this with rice or noodles and a vegetable stir fry.
After some experimentation, I worked out that you need to give the plums and sauce a little head start before adding the duck (or else the plums are not cooked enough and the duck is burnt!). Roasting the plums in the sauce for 15 minutes before adding the duck is just about right and means you get deliciously squishy and collapsing plums without overcooking your duck.
If you have a little spare time in advance and want to make this even more delicious you can marinade the duck in the sauce for up to 24 hours. When it’s time to cook the traybake simply place the plums and the marinade into the tray and roast for 15 minutes before adding the duck.
This is a bit of a tricky one to pair with wine, but I reckon a bottle of red Bordeaux or a Chilean Merlot would go well here, or else try an aromatic white such as Sauvignon Blanc or Gewurztraminer from France or New Zealand.
Chinese Style Duck and Plum Traybake
Ingredients
- Juice of 3 oranges
- 3 teaspoons of Chinese five spice
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes or to taste
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons runny honey
- 6 plums stoned and halved
- 4 duck legs roughly 250g each – I used Gressingham duck legs
- Mashed potato noodles or rice to serve
- Stir-fried or steamed green veg to serve e.g. kale, broccoli, pak choi
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180C
- Squeeze the juice of 3 oranges into a roasting tray, add the five spice, chilli flakes, soy sauce and honey, and stir together.
- Add the halved plums and turn them in the sauce
- Roast in your preheated oven for 15 minutes
- After 15 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and add the duck legs. Turn the duck legs in the sauce and then arrange them skin side up and put the tray back in the oven.
- Roast for a further 45 minutes until the duck is just cooked through and the plums are soft. Baste once or twice whilst the duck is cooking for maximum flavour.
- Serve the duck on a bed of mashed potato, rice or noodles and drizzle over a little of the sauce. Serve with green vegetables too, if you fancy.
Pin Chinese Style Duck and Plum Traybake for later
I am linking this recipe up to Brilliant Blog Posts, Cook Blog Share, Recipe or the Week, Cook Once Eat Twice and The Food Calendar.
Oh Eb this sounds delicious! I grew up on a farm and we had ducks so I used to eat it quite a lot but, as with the venison, duck is another meat that my husband doesn’t really like so I rarely make anything with it these days. Ducks are also my daughter’s favourite animal so I’m not sure if she’d we willing to try it either! On the other hand, there’d be plenty of leftovers for Master Spice and me. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Aw, thanks Corina 🙂 Such a shame your husband doesn’t eat duck either! It’s definitely one of my favourite meats. Growing up we always had duck instead of turkey on Christmas day, so the smell of it always makes me think of Christmas. This traybake is so easy to do, so maybe you could do one tray of duck for you and Master Spice and a second tray with chicken instead for Mr and Miss Spice? Eb x
Such a lovely recipe, Eb! I love meat and fruit in the same recipe! I always find duck tricky to cook, I am always afraid it will turn out tough or stringy or something. Yours looks done to perfection!
Aw, thanks Monika – I totally agree about the meat and fruit thing – so good!! My main problem with duck is that so many recipes suggest a cooking time that is way too long – 45 minutes at 180C is plenty for duck legs, and actually if you like your duck pink in the middle you could get away with even less. I particularly like duck legs as they are so easy to roast in the oven and there is no carving involved! Plus they are great for a small family like us – one duck leg each and no waste! (Well actually, more like half a duck leg each for the kids, one for me and two for hubby!) Eb x
Just delicious – love those flavours. Will definitely have to try this out soon.
Thanks Ema 🙂 Do let me know how it goes, if you try it! 🙂 Eb x
I love the idea of using duck in a traybake Eb, especially with the Chinese plum sauce, delicious. x
Thanks Sarah! It really work so well and is super easy to do!! Eb x
Eb this traybake looks so good! I love using Chinese five spice. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Aw, thanks Kirsty 🙂 Me too – spice blends like 5 spice are really great when time is tight, rather than faffing around with all the individual spices. I also love ras el hanout and garam masala for the same reason. Eb x
oooooh Eb this looks so tasty and sounds surprisingly easy to make too. The colour of those legs are sooooo amazing!
Aw, thanks Jenny 🙂 It really is as easy as it sounds! Eb x
This looks totally delicious, many thanks, Eb. Was looking for inspiration for a dinner party next week and I think this is the dish for me! Lucy xx
A pleasure! Really hope your guests like it – let me know how it goes 😀 Eb x