30-minute five-spice hoisin duck and rice bowls

This duck dish is perfect for a quick and tasty weeknight meal, says Prudence Wade

Using duck breasts keeps it quick and simple

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

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

2 duck breasts

2 tsp Chinese five-spice

250g jasmine rice

½ cucumber, diced

4 spring onions, finely chopped

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

Salt

Method:

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

Easy by Chris Baber (Ebury Press/PA)

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.

9. Serve on top of the rice with the cucumber and spring onions. Drizzle with the sesame oil and hoisin sauce. Give it all a good mix together before getting stuck in.

‘Easy’ by Chris Baber (published by Ebury Press, £16.99; photography by Haarala Hamilton), available now