• 4 fat duck legs
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons five-spice
• A handful of star anise
• ½ a stick of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1–2 fresh red chillies, seeded and sliced
• 16 plums, halved and stoned
• 2 tablespoons demerara sugar

First find yourself a large sandwich bag, or a freezer bag. Pop in the duck legs, soy sauce, five-spice, star anise, cinnamon and olive oil and mush it all around in the bag until the meat is well coated. Leave to marinate in the fridge for between 2 hours and 2 days.

When you’re ready to cook the meat, preheat your oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Place the chillies, plums and sugar in the bottom of a deep pan or roasting tray, then ease the marinade out of the bag and over the top of the fruit. Mix it all together with your fingers, then place the duck legs on top.

Put the pan or tray into the oven for 2–2½ hours, until the meat falls away from the bone and the pan is full of a rich, jammy, chunky plum sauce. Remove the star anise and cinnamon, and taste the sauce to see if it needs a little more soy. Trust your tastebuds.

Serve with some simple rice or noodles to soak up all the yummy plummy juices.