This crispy duck in garlic sauce with vegetables is a tasty meal that you can put together in next to no time. The duck is tender with a crispy skin and the vegetables are cooked in a tasty Oriental style sauce, giving them an amazing flavour. This is way better than any takeaway I’ve ever tasted!
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Crispy duck in garlic sauce
I have to admit I love duck. It features on our menu at least once a month in some form or other. When time isn’t an issue, I love making crispy roast duck with cherry sauce. But if I’m in a hurry I often just cook a duck in my pressure cooker before crisping the skin in the oven.
Another way I like to serve duck is this recipe for duck in garlic sauce with vegetables, which I am sharing today. It’s made with slices of crispy-skinned duck breast in a thick garlic-flavored sauce, with lots of crunchy vegetables, and served with either Chinese noodles or white rice.
Duck in garlic sauce is hubby’s number one choice when it comes to ordering a Chinese takeaway. But I have to say even he was surprised at how well this recipe turned out. His comment – ‘this is so much better than a takeaway – you’ve got to make it again!’. I call that a success!
This is a versatile recipe as far as the duck goes. You can:
- use duck leftover from a roast (either oven-roast or or cooked in a pressure cooker);
- fry some fresh duck breasts and slice those;
- buy frozen ready-cooked duck (the sort that is sold for making duck pancakes). Heat it in the oven as per the packet instructions use that.
- And if you wanted to, you could even make this recipe with chicken!
I’ve used fresh duck breasts for this recipe and the easy instructions for cooking them are included below.
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a saute pan but you can get away with using a large frying pan (as long as it has a lid).
You will need a sharp knife and a chopping board for chopping up the vegetables, and a pair of tongs to help you turn the duck while you are frying it.
Ingredients
This recipe serves 4 people.
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making duck in garlic sauce on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Duck breasts – these are fresh duck breasts. You can also use shredded duck leftover from a roast, or ready-cooked frozen duck breasts that you can reheat in the oven.
Vegetables – the choice here is up to you. I like to use:
- Broccoli – either tenderstem or florets
- Onions – cut into quarters and the petals separated
- Carrots – cut into thin batons
- Red pepper– finely sliced
The vegetables pictured above are just a suggestion. You can use whatever mixture of vegetables you prefer – just make sure to allow about 1 cup of mixed vegetables per person. Why not try adding bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, or sliced green beans.
Flavourings
- Garlic – at least 4 cloves, this is called crispy duck with garlic sauce for a reason :). If you don’t have fresh garlic, just use the equivalent amount of crushed garlic from a jar.
- Oyster sauce – for an umami flavour
- Soy sauce – I used dark soy
- 5-spice powder – adds an oriental taste which goes really well with duck
- Brown sugar and rice wine vinegar for tang and a hint of sweetness
- Tomato puree (also known as tomato paste) – this is thick concentrated tomatoes and is normally sold in a tube. Don’t use tomato ketchup.
- Chicken stock – if you don’t have any fresh stock you can dissolve stock cubes in boiling water
- Cornflour (or cornstarch) – for thickening
- Spring onion – for garnish
- Sunflower oil – for frying the onions (or you could use some of the duck fat instead)
- Salt – taste first before adding salt as you may find the soy sauce and chicken stock add sufficient saltiness.
What to do
Get all the preparation done upfront. Once the prep is done, there’s very little actual cooking time.
Prepare the vegetables
- Peel and chop the onions into quarters or 1/8th (depending on size). Separate the cut onions into petals.
- Crush or finely chop the garlic.
- Peel the carrots and cut them into thin batons.
- Separate the broccoli into florets.
- Remove the seeds and membranes from the red pepper and slice thinly
- Thinly slice the spring onion. This will be used for garnish.
Make the stock
- Dissolve the stock cube in one cup of boiling water.
- Mix in the oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato puree, and 5-spice powder. Set aside until it’s time to add to the vegetables.
Cook the duck breasts
Sprinkle the duck breasts lightly with salt (optional) and place them skin-side down in a dry frying pan over a medium heat.
Let them fry gently for about 5 minutes until the skin is crispy. You will find that the duck releases quite a lot of fat.
Once the skin has crisped, use a pair of tongs to help you hold the duck in place, and continue to fry gently for another 5 minutes, browning on all sides.
Remove the duck from the pan and set it aside to rest.
Pour any excess duck fat away, leaving only one to two tablespoons.
Add the onions, carrots and red peppers to the pan and stir well to coat the vegetables with the duck fat.
Turn down the heat to low, cover the pan with a lid, and leave for 5 minutes. Keep your eye on the vegetables and don’t allow them to brown – they should just soften. Turn down the heat if necessary.
Add the remaining vegetables and the prepared stock.
In addition to the broccoli, I added a few sliced mushrooms and a handful of beansprouts!
Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until the vegetables are cooked but still crispy.
The sauce will be very thin at this stage. To thicken it, mix the cornflower to a smooth paste with a little water and drizzle it into the pan, stirring continuously on a low heat, until the sauce thickens. You may not need all the cornflour/water mixture.
Slice the duck thinly across the grain and add it to the vegetables. Leave on a low heat for 2 minutes until the duck is heated through.
Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve with rice or pasta.
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Freezing the duck
If you want to freeze any leftovers, just pack the cooled leftovers into a suitable freezer container and freeze for up to three months.
To reheat, defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat in a saucepan or microwave until piping hot and serve immediately.
Scale the recipe
To scale the recipe to cater for more or fewer people:
- allow one duck breast (about 120 grams / 4 ounces) per person
- use a mixture of 1 to one and a half cups of vegetables per person
- adjust the amount of stock you add.
Pin for later
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Other recipes
If you enjoyed this duck in garlic sauce, you may like to try some of my other Asian-inspired recipes:
The recipe
Duck in garlic sauce with vegetables
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 4 duck breasts 120 grams or 4 ounces each
- 1 large onion cut into quarters and separated into petals
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup carrots cut into batons
- 1 cup red pepper sliced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree / tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken stock you can use 2 stock cubes dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water
- 2 tablespoons cornflour / cornstarch mixed with 4 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil (or duck fat) for frying the onions
- 1 to 2 spring onions or scallions for garnish
- salt to taste
Instructions
Preparation
- Peel and chop the onions into quarters or 1/6th (depending on size). Separate them into petals. Crush or finely chop the garlic. Peel the carrots and cut them into thin batons. Separate the broccoli into florets. Remove the seeds and membrames from the red pepper and slice thinly. Thinly slice the spring onion.1 large onion, 1 cup broccoli florets, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup red pepper, 4 cloves garlic, 1 to 2 spring onions or scallions
- Dissolve the stock cubes in 2 cups of boiling water. Mix in the soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste and 5-spice powder. Set aside until needed1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, 2 cups chicken stock, 2 tablespoons tomato puree / tomato paste
- Place the duck breasts skin side down in a dry frying pan and fry over a low heat for about 5 minutes until the skin has turned crispy.4 duck breasts
- Use a pair of tongs to help you hold the duck in place, and continue to fry the duck on all sides for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the duck from the pan and set it aside.
Garlic sauce and vegetables
- Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan (or you could use sunflower oil) and fry the onions, garlic, peppers, and carrots until they start to soften.1 tablespoon sunflower oil (or duck fat)
- Pour in the prepared stock and add the broccoli and any other vegetables you may be using.
- Cover with a lid, turn the heat down to a simmer and allow to cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the vegetables are cooked, but still crispy.
- Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of water and drizzle it into the sauce, and stir over a low heat until the sauce thickens. You may not need all the cornflour.2 tablespoons cornflour / cornstarch
- Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.salt to taste
- Slice the duck thinly across the grain and add it to the vegetables. Stir and leave on a low heat for 2 minutes until piping hot.
- Serve immediately with either Chinese noodles or white rice.
Notes
- allow one duck breast (about 120 grams / 4 ounces) per person
- use a mixture of 1 to one and a half cups of vegetables per person
- adjust the amount of stock you add.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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Overall delicious recipe. I found one oversite though. I simply could nkt find the measurement for thr vhinese five soice. If you could email me the amount to use, I would appreciate it. For my veggies I used purple onion, red bell pepper. And quartered brussel sprouts. My duckbwas a thawed 6 lb duck and it took 45 minutes to cook. I wish it would have rendered more fat out as it was still very difficult to get any crispness on the skin. Nonetheless my husband and I enjoyed it and I will continue to tweak the recipe to my needs.
Hi April, thanks for pointing out my mistake. The amount of 5 spice powder is 1 teaspoon and I have updated the recipe accordingly.
As far as rendering the fat out, try browning the duck for longer on the stove before putting it into the pressure cooker, and fry it over quite a hot heat once the duck has been cooked.
I’ve sent you an email.
Regards
VJ x