Tea-Smoked Duck and Ginger-Pickled Cherries

Name: Tea-Smoked Duck and Ginger-Pickled Cherries
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 200 ml Forum cabernet vinegar; 2 slices speck (smoked bacon), cut into fine julienne strips and grilled until crisp; 2 slices speck (smoked bacon), cut into fine julienne strips and grilled until crisp; 80 ml Sweet Ginger Dressing; 2 red radishes, cut into fine julienne strips; 3 red shallots, finely sliced; handful of dandelion leaves, trimmed; 4 purple shiso leaves, torn; 1 punnet rocket cress, snipped; 1 punnet red garnet cress, snipped; 1 punnet swiss chard cress, snipped; 1 tablespoon Duck Liver Pate; 4 thin slices sourdough baguette, toasted; vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 1 cup Tea-smoking Mix; 2 duck breasts, trimmed; 400 g dark red cherries, pitted; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 30 g ginger, finely shredded; 100 g brown sugar; 150 ml white wine (chenin blanc is ideal); 20 ml cherry liqueur; 50 ml Yamamoto sweet ginger vinegar; 150 ml white wine (chenin blanc is ideal); 1 teaspoon sansho pepper; 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper; 2 teaspoons sea salt

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Fire

By Christine Manfield

Published 2008

About

Cherries have a short season in Japan and are a revered fruit. You’ll often find that each cherry is individually wrapped in paper, making them appear like prized jewellery, with a price tag to match. The pickled cherries in this recipe are a perfect foil for the richness of duck and can also be served with slow-braised or roasted pork.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon sansho pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
2

Asia
Japan
Main course
Tokyo

Method

To pickle the cherries, heat both the vinegars, wine, liqueur and shredded ginger and sugar in a saucepan to boiling point. Season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat and add the cherries. Simmer gently for 2 minutes then remove from the heat and allow the cherries to cool slightly in the liquid. Transfer to a jar, seal and refrigerate for a few days before using.

To tea-smoke the duc