The entire basis of this dish came from wanting to shove as many Chinese/Asian inspired dishes into one thing. So we have roasted duck leg, seared duck breast, green papaya salad, and a duck fat infused bun, served with a duck-blood orange-soy sauce. It’s a lot of food, but it’s guaranteed that you’ll find something you like amongst the different components on this dish.

For the buns, they were inspired by when I went to Hinoki and the Bird with my friend, Jojo, where we had an incredibly delicious duck and steamed bun dish (honestly, I think that’s one of the biggest inspirations behind this dish). The buns were massive, jiggly, and fluffier than that murderous unicorn from Despicable Me, so you know that they are something worthy of attempting to replicate. I infused my buns with duck fat and ovaltine, since the malt plays well with the yeast when it comes to the proofing part of it all. The green papaya salad came from wanting a fresh component, since if I were to serve just meat and buns, that would be rather boring. I wanted the green papaya salad to be fresh and vibrant, so I included blood orange and watermelon radish for that Californian spin on an Asian classic.

For the roasted duck legs:
2 duck legs
duck sauce base liquid*
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce

Simmer duck legs in the duck sauce base liquid for 1 hour. Mix together honey and soy sauce and glaze the legs. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.

For the seared duck breasts:
2 duck breasts
a pinch of salt
a pinch of paprika
a pinch of ginger
a pinch of black pepper

Season the duck breasts and score their skins. Place them skin side down on a cast iron pan and begin rendering them over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, reserving any fat that spills out. Flip the duck breasts and sear them on the flesh side for 1 minute and bake in the oven at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Rest on the cutting board for another 5 minutes before slicing.

For the duck sauce:
Duck carcass; roasted in 400 degree F oven for 25 minutes
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 knob ginger
1/4 cup blood orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic
water
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Sweat out scallions, ginger, and garlic in the sesame oil in a large pot. Add in other ingredients and simmer. Top the pot with water as needed to keep the carcass submerged. Simmer for about 1 hour, and then strain out solids. Simmer the duck thighs in this liquid for another hour. Remove the duck legs, reduce completely until the liquid thickens into a rich sauce, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

For the green papaya salad:
1 green papaya; peeled, seeded, and julienned
2 blood oranges, segmented
2 watermelon radishes; sliced thinly
vinaigrette*

Toss ingredients together. Keep cold until it is time to serve.

For the vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons duck fat
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup blood orange juice
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon lime juice (can replace with black vinegar if you have no limes)
a pinch of salt

Combine together. It’s that simple.

For the buns:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup lukewarm ovaltine
1 packet dry-active yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm soy bean milk
1/3 cup melted duck fat
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
a pinch of salt

Combine soy bean milk with yeast and sugar and allow to sit for 10 minutes at 110 degrees F in your oven. Combine all ingredients and knead until it just forms a dough. Allow the dough to proof for 1 hour, covered, and then set up steamers. Divide the dough into eight even pieces and, roll into circles, and then fold each bun in half. Steam the buns for 17 minutes.