Five-Spice Duck Breast with Blueberry Pan Reduction and Stir-Fry Bok Choy

So, I'm trying to be good on my gestational diabetes diet while still not getting bored of what I'm eating.  Reid and I went to the farmer's market yesterday and picked out some stuff I wouldn't usually buy.  I bought some duck breast.  I love duck, but have never cooked it myself.  The farmer at Belle Vie Farms  was more then happy to share with me some cooking tips.

Also picked up some bok choy and oyster mushrooms at the market, so I thought I'd do an Asian style duck breast.  I thought about doing a Hoisin sauce-style duck, but since this was the first time I'd cooked duck and really didn't want to screw it up, I actually looked up a recipe.  This recipe is inspired by the New York Times recipe.  It came out great!

Five-Spice Duck Breast with Blueberry Pan Reduction
Recipe inspired by http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017596-five-spice-duck-breast-with-blackberries
Serves 2
Ingredients:

  • 2 small Moscovy duck breasts, about 10 oz each
  • 2 tsp. Chinese five-spice
  • salt
  • 1 tbs. grated ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced and additional 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 c. fresh blueberries
  • 2 tbs. brown sugar
  • 2 tbs. sherry vinegar
  • 1/2 c. chicken broth
Directions:

  1. Score the skin side of duck breast with a sharp knife in diagonals.  Season both sides of duck breasts with salt and Chinese five-spice seasoning.  Rub ginger and garlic into both sides of duck and allow to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  2. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Place duck skin-side down for about 7 minutes.  Flip and sear for another 5-7 minutes or until internal temperature reaches about 125*F for medium-rare.  Remove from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove extra duck fat from pan.  
  4. Over medium heat, brown the garlic and use sherry vinegar to deglaze pan.  Add blueberries and brown sugar.  Use the back of a spoon to smash blueberries and release juice.  Add chicken broth and allow to simmer until sauce reduced about half the volume.
  5. Slice duck breast against the grain and pour over pan sauce.
Stir-Fry Bok Choy and Oyster Mushrooms
Ingredients:

  • 2 tbs. sesame oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 Thai red chile pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 large bok choy cabbage or 2 small bok choys
  • 1 ~0.5 lb. oyster mushroom
  • Korean sesame seeds, for garnish
Directions:

  1. To a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, add all ingredients except sesame seeds.  Stir-fry for 5-8 minutes until bok choy is cooked through.  Top with sesame seeds.



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