Crispy Duck

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place the duck breasts in a medium heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for about 3 minutes. This will release some of the fat from under the skin and will help to make it crispy when cooked. Remove the duck breasts from the bowl using a large, slotted spoon and place them on a chopping board. Discard the water in the bowl.

Use kitchen paper to pat the duck breasts all over to dry them as much as possible. Using a sharp knife, make cuts diagonally through the skin and fat, but not into the meat. Make the cuts as close together as you can. Repeat to make another set of cuts at right angles to the first set. The duck breasts should now have criss-crossed cuts all over the skin.

Sprinkle the salt over the skin and rub into the cuts. This will help release the fat from under the skin when cooking. Turn the duck breasts over, sprinkle the meat with Chinese five-spice powder and rub over.

Place a small frying pan on a medium to high heat. When the frying pan is hot, add the duck breasts, skin-side down. Fry for 5 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Pour off the fat and discard.

Turn the duck breasts over and fry for 1-2 minutes, to seal the bottom and sides of the meat.

Place the duck breasts on a rack in a roasting tin or a grill pan. Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the meat is cooked through, and the skin is browned and crisp.

Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 3-4 minutes. While the meat is resting, heat the Chinese-style pancakes according to the packet instructions. Using two forks, finely shred the duck meat along the grain.

Place the pancakes on a plate and top with a little shredded duck meat, cucumber, spring onion, drizzle a teaspoonful of hoisin sauce over and roll up. Serve alone or with other accompaniments of your choice. Enjoy!