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Crispy duck pancakes with hoisin sauce, cucumber batons, and spring onions on a dark slate plate

Crispy Duck Pancakes with Hoisin

Slow-roasted duck legs shredded and served in thin mandarin pancakes with hoisin, cucumber, and spring onions.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 480
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Duck
  • 2 large (about 800 g total) duck legs skin on, patted completely dry
  • 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 0.5 tsp ground black pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves crushed, placed under the duck legs
  • 3 slices fresh ginger placed under the duck legs
Pancakes
  • 200 g plain flour plus extra for dusting, or use 16 store-bought mandarin pancakes
  • 130 ml boiling water just off the boil
  • 1 tsp sesame oil for brushing between pancake pairs
To serve
  • 4 tbsp hoisin sauce Lee Kum Kee or similar
  • 0.5 medium (about 150 g) cucumber cut into thin 5 cm batons
  • 4 spring onions trimmed and cut into thin matchsticks

Method
 

Prepare the duck
  1. Heat the oven to 160 C / 320 F. Pat the duck legs completely dry with paper towels.
  2. Mix the five-spice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the mixture all over the duck skin and underside.
  3. Place the crushed garlic and ginger slices in the base of a roasting pan. Set a wire rack over the pan and lay the duck legs skin-side up on the rack.
  4. Roast at 160 C for 1 hour 45 minutes, until the fat has rendered and the skin looks dry and pale golden.
  5. Increase the oven temperature to 220 C / 425 F. Roast for a further 15 minutes until the skin is deep golden and crisp.
  6. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes. Shred the meat with two forks, discarding the bones and excess fat. Keep warm under foil.
Make the pancakes (skip if using store-bought)
  1. Place the flour in a mixing bowl. Pour in the boiling water gradually while stirring with a chopstick or fork until a shaggy dough forms.
  2. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
  3. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten to a 3 mm thick round about 10 cm in diameter.
  4. Brush the top of one pancake with a thin layer of sesame oil, then stack a second pancake on top. Roll both together as a pair to about 18 cm in diameter.
  5. Heat a dry non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook each pair for 45 to 60 seconds per side until small brown spots appear and the pancake puffs slightly.
  6. Peel the paired pancakes apart while still warm to give you two thin pancakes. Stack under a clean damp cloth to keep soft.
Warm store-bought pancakes
  1. If using store-bought mandarin pancakes, arrange them in a bamboo steamer basket over a pot of simmering water. Steam for 3 to 4 minutes until pliable and warm.
Assemble and serve
  1. Lay a warm pancake flat. Spread about 1 tsp of hoisin sauce across the lower half using the back of a spoon.
  2. Add a small mound of shredded duck, 2 to 3 cucumber batons, and a few spring onion strips.
  3. Roll the pancake tightly from the bottom, folding in the sides as you go. Serve immediately.

Notes

Scoring the duck skin in a crosshatch pattern before roasting helps the fat render faster and gives the skin more surface area to crisp. If you want a slightly lacquered finish, brush the skin with a thin layer of honey 5 minutes before the final high-heat blast.