Roast Duck Noodle Soup

Coming back from a day at the beach, I had to make a quick dinner and decided on some roast duck noodle soup. I had just bought Chinese Food made Easy by Ching-He Huang, who has a cookery show on BBC TV. Her recipes are easy and don't need that many fancy or exotic ingredients which is perfect when you're in a rush and want to whip up a Chinese dish. I improvised a bit on the original recipe and only followed her marinade for the roast duck then just made my own soup using prepared organic chicken stock. While the roast duck was in the oven, I cooked the noodles then set it aside. I then boiled my chicken stock, added some sesame oil, soy sauce and cider vinegar (or rice vinegar). Then I added a handful of spinach leaves (you can also use bok choy or Chinese cabbage leaf) then I added the cooked noodles. Of course, if you can get roast duck from your neighborhood Chinese restaurant, even better. All you would have to do is the soup and noodles for a hearty meal.

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Roast Duck

• 2 duck breast fillets, skin on
• 1 tsp. five-spice powder
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 3 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 3 Tbsp. soft light brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce


• Mix all the ingredients for the marinade then pour into a plastic bag. Add the duck and seal the bag. leave in the fridge as long as possible - overnight is ideal, but 20 minutes is okay.


• Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat a pan over high heat. Remove the duck from the marinade and pat it dry. Place in the pan, skin side down and cook for about 1 minute, then turn and cook the other side until golden brown. Transfer to a baking tray, skin side up, and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.