Serious Eats: Recipes
Dinner Tonight: Dongting Stir-Fried Duck Breast
"What's most surprising about this stir-fry is the lack of any gloopy sauce."
I think this is the third time I've checked out Fuschia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook from the library. I've been wanting to conquer every recipe for a while now, but there's always that one ingredient I don't have at the time, which means I have to lug it back to the library (only to run back to get it after I finally score that missing element).
This time it was Shaoxing wine, an ingredient Dunlop mentions constantly throughout the book, and uses often in meat marinades. In the past I've either skipped recipes mentioning it or used some kind of substitute (like white wine or even just water).
But I wanted to see what this ingredient would actually do.
I can't specifically point out where that Shaoxing Wine goes, but it's hard to deny how delicious this dish turns out to be.
What's most surprising about this stir-fry is the lack of any gloopy sauce. I'm only just beginning to dip my toes in authentic Chinese cuisine, specifically the areas of Sichuan and Hunan, but I'm still in that first moment of awe when you figure out that a cuisine is incredibly more complex and mysterious than it first seemed.
This one has a tinge of heat, but it's not overpowering. Honestly, the ginger, garlic, and green scallion provide the most flavor, creating this fragrant base that enlivens every bite.