Duck Stir Fry With Noodles and Hoisin Sauce (Duck Chow Mein) (2024)

4 reasons why you'll love this recipe:

1. Easy and speedy. On the table in less than 30 minutes.
2. Shows you how to cook tender and juicy duck breast with perfectly crispy skin.
3. A wholesome meal with nourishing veggies tossed in the tastiest homemade 5-ingredient hoisin stir fry sauce
4. Adaptable with lots of ways to tweak it to make it your own

🛒 Key ingredients and possible alternatives

• 5-ingredient hoisin stir fry sauce: Made with regular or light soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, and a small amount of Chinese five spice.
• Egg noodles: Medium egg noodles are recommended. You can use dried noodles or pre-cooked ones.
• Duck breast - I buy duck breast portions for this recipe, but you use full-sized duck breasts. The duck is sliced after it has been cooked so either option is fine.
• Ginger, red chilli, and garlic: Add additional freshness, umami flavour and heat to the stir-fry. Make sure you use fresh garlic and ginger.
• Veggies: Carrot sticks and red pepper are often my veggies of choice because they are easy to stir-fry and have a fresh sweetness that contrasts with the fatty savouriness of the duck.
• Spring onions/scallions: These are added when the stir-fry is served to provide a little crunch and tangy fresh flavour.

Substitutions

Note that the recipe has not been tested with the below substitutions and variations, so the results cannot be guaranteed.

• Rice vinegar: Substitute with apple cider vinegar.
• Egg noodles: Other types of noodles like ramen, udon and soba will also work. For a gluten-free option use gluten-free noodles or rice noodles.
• Red chilli: Can be substituted with chilli flakes.

Variations:

• Switch up the veggies: try asparagus, broccoli florets, beans, bean sprouts, pak choi, cabbage, courgette/zucchini or whatever else you fancy or have available.
• Use shredded cooked duck instead of freshly cooked duck breast. It's a great way to enjoy leftover roast duck.
• Vegetarian/vegan alternative with crispy fried tofu instead of duck. You'll also need to omit the oyster sauce or use vegan oyster sauce.
• Serve with rice instead of noodles.

🧑‍🍳 Recipe steps

Step 1: Mix the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar and Chinese five-spice in a small bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Cook the noodles according to packet instructions. Run them under cold water when you drain them to prevent them from sticking together and set them aside.

Step 3: Score the skin in a diamond pattern. Be careful not to cut into the flesh. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

Step 4: Place a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and add the duck breasts with the skin-side facing down and fry for approximately 5 minutes until the skin is brown and crisp. Then turn the duck breast over and fry for 3-4 minutes until the bottom is brown. Use tongs to cook the sides of the duck breast then remove from the pan and place on a board to rest while you cook the stir fry.

Step 5: Fry the ginger and chilli for 1-2 minutes. Then add the carrots and red pepper, and fry for a few minutes until they are tender. Add the garlic and cook for one minute until fragrant and add the cooked noodles and toss with the veggies until they are hot.

Pour on the sauce and cook for a few minutes until it reduces a little. Remove the pan from the heat and divide the stir-fried noodles and veggies into bowls. Cut the duck breast diagonally into slices and place it on top of each bowl and top with spring onions/scallions.

Serving suggestions

With protein-rich duck, noodles and lots of fresh veggies duck chow mein is certainly a satisfying standalone meal. Some spring rolls or a few prawn crackers on the side will go nicely. Or if you're feeding a crowd you might like to serve it alongside some other Asian dishes like Sweet and Sour Hong Kong Style Chicken, Chilli Honey Chicken or Crispy Shredded Beef with Chilli.

• Sharp knife - for scoring the duck breast skin and prepping the veggies. Unless you have sharpened your knife very recently, I strongly advise sharpening it before you start because it makes scoring the duck breasts much easier.
• Large pan or wok - a wok is the best type of pan for stir-fries because its large sides enable you to toss the ingredients together quickly at a high heat. You can also use a large frying pan instead.
• Saucepan - for cooking the noodles.
• Tongs - are a very helpful tool for frying the duck breasts on a high heat safely and are also useful for serving the noodles.

Expert Tips

1. Prep your ingredients before you begin - make sure the veggies are chopped, the noodles are cooked and the sauce is made before you begin the stir-frying process. Things will move really quickly once you start stir-frying and there will not be time to prep as you go.
2. Score the duck breast - do not skip this, it's an essential step if you want crispy skin because it enables the fat to render during the cooking process. Try to avoid cutting into the meat when you do this, you want the flesh to retain its moisture and be delicious and succulent when you bite into it.
3. Cook the duck breast on a high heat - make sure your pan is red hot before you add the duck breast. You can test this by adding a tiny drop of water, if it sizzles and evaporates immediately you are good to go. Otherwise, you will need to get the pan hotter before you cook the duck breast.
4. Let the duck breast rest - this allows the temperature to regulate and the juices to be reabsorbed back into the meat. If you slice the duck breast too soon you will lose these juices and the duck breast won't be as moist and delicious. Duck breast should be rested for 10 minutes. If you set it aside after cooking it should be sufficiently rested by the time you come to serve the stir fry.

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