Sous Vide Duck BiBimBap
Bibimbap, Korean for "mixed rice" is not as scary as it sounds. At it's most traditional, it is made in a hot stone bowl so that the outside of the rice forms a crunchy crust and then you mix all of the ingredients together at the table, letting the oozy egg yolk and the spicy sauce blend together and bind the dish into a gooey, comforting mess. We skip the hot stone bowl and just use sticky sushi rice and rather than a traditional raw egg, I use a sous vide poached or fried egg on top.
Okay, I know that this dish has lots of elements to make it come together, but they are all pretty simple and, expect for the rice and the eggs, they can all be made ahead of time. I often make the BBQ sauce, spinach, daikon and any other vegetable the day before or earlier in the day and then I throw the meat in the sous vide and an hour before it's time to eat, I pull out the rice cooker and let it sit in there after it's done, keeping warm while I deal with the duck. If you have everything ready to go, you just line up the bowls and work, assembly line style, arranging all of the elements on top of the rice and serve.
If you don't have a sous vide, I am sorry for your loss. I adore my Anova and it is the one thing that will guarantee I that I never become a vegetarian. If you need to cook the duck breast without a sous vide, I will give instructions on how to pan fry it, with skin attached.
If you are going to sous vide, removing the skin and making some duck "chicharron" was the crowning glory to this dish and I am already imagining these crispy bits on pasta, on salad, hell, on just about anything I put in my mouth. Okay, that would happen if I didn't pick away at them while I was finishing dinner, but a girl can dream.
I am sharing an affiliate link for anyone who is interested in getting one of these babies so that you can grab one for yourself and I will get a buck or two commission at no extra cost to yourself. I have two Anovas and another brand and I forget I have the other brand, to be honest because the Anova is so good.
FYI, this is for delivery in Ontario and Quebec only at this time.
Maillard is an online butcher that allows you to order your meat and have it delivered to your doorstep the next day. Their meats are sourced from good farms in Quebec and, except for the flattened chickens, they are all processed at the Maillard facility, with HACCP certification.
Because I am a lucky girl, they sent me a sample box of meat to try out that arrived, as advertised, in a pretty heavy duty, insulated box that is guaranteed to keep your meat cold for 30 hours from the moment it is packed and sent out. The meat arrived packed in dry ice and everything was, indeed, still rock hard when I got home and found it waiting for me. I popped all the meat straight into the freezer, had oral surgery and couldn't eat for a couple of weeks and promptly forgot about it until today.
The first thing I decided to try was the boneless duck breast. Priced at $8.40/ 240g piece (or a pack of 18 for $151), I thought it a decent price and it was very fresh and defrosted beautifully. I have been dying to sous vide some duck so that is how I prepared it.
I have to tell you, the meat was amazing, very flavourful and tender and I will absolutely order a case of the duck breasts to use The Kingston Social House for an upcoming special.
I still have a flattened chicken, pork chops and a steak to try out but if the duck is any indication, I am pretty sure I am going to be happy.
I was sent the box of meat for free so that I could try it out with the understanding that if I wasn't impressed with it, I would not share with my readers. I was very happy with the duck and will report back when I try the rest of the product
Duck BiBimBap
duck breast
crispy duck skin
spinach
daikon pickle
shiitake mushrooms
snap peas
thinly sliced scallion
Korean BBQ Sauce
Put rice in a large bowl.
Arrange 1/4 of the duck slices, the spinach, the daikon, mushrooms, snap peas on the top. Gently break the sous vide eggs in the middle, sprinkle the whole thing with some scallion and crispy duck skin and then drizzle with the Korean BBQ Sauce.
2 cups sushi rice
2 cups water
1 tsp kosher salt
cook the rice in a rice cooker or follow the package directions, keep warm and set aside.
Duck
1 duck breast
2 slices ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
Put duck breasts, ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce in vacuum bags and seal. Place the bags in a 135F water bath for 1.5 hours and up to 4 hours. Remove from the bath, take out of the vacuum bag and dry with paper towels.
While the breasts cook, slice the skin up into thin strips and chop it. Fry the skin in a small pan until crisp, remove the crunchy nuggets to a paper towel lined plate and reserve the fat. Set the duck skin nuggets aside.
Heat up a bit of the duck fat in a small pan and sear both sides of the duck, remove to a cutting board and slice.
While the duck is cooking, make the spinach, the daikon, the mushrooms and the sauce.
*To cook the duck breast without sous vide, dry the skin with a paper towel and then score it in a cross hatch pattern (skin only, don't go deeper into the meat)
season with salt and pepper
Place the duck, skin side down, in a cold, oven safe frying pan and turn the heat on to med high.
As the fat starts to come out, keep tilting the pan and use a spoon to remove it to a bowl, and cook this way for about 5 or 6 minutes.
Flip the breast and cook the other side for about 5 minutes. Remove to cutting board and let rest a few minutes.
This will give you a medium rare duck breast and if you press with your finger it should feel firm but still a bit springy. If it feels too undercooked, pop it into a 425F oven for a few more minutes.
Slice
Keep that fat in a covered jar to use for eggs, home fries and anything else you need to pan fry!
Spinach
230 g spinach
Pinch salt
1tsp light soy sauce
1tsp sesame oil
1tsp sesame seeds
Put the spinach into a pot of boiling water and Blanche for about 2 minutes. Remove to a strainer and rinse under cold, running water. Take handfuls of spinach and squeeze all the water out. Chop it up and put in a bowl. Continue until all the spinach is chopped and then add the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine and set aside
Daikon Pickle
1 medium daikon, peeled and shredded on a mandoline ( about 3 cups)
Pinch kosher salt
1tbls red pepper powder
1 1/2 tables apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbl sugar
1tbls sesame seeds
1clove minced garlic
Pinch salt
Sprinkle a good pinch of kosher salt over the daikon and let sit for a few minutes before rinsing well in cold water. Drain and return the radish to the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Set aside
Shiitake Mushrooms
a big handful of shitake mushroom caps
duck fat
pinch kosher salt
Heat a tsp of duck fat in the same pan that you fried the skin in and sauté the mushrooms, with a pinch of salt, until they are soft and starting to brown. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
Snap Peas
100 grams snap peas
bring a small pot of water to a boil and drop in the snap peas for one minute. Remove and run under cold water and then set aside.
Korean BBQ Sauce
2tbl gochujang3tbls sugar
2tbls light soy sauce
1tsp rice vinegar
2tsp sesame oil
Whisk everything together really well and set aside
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I really appreciate you sharing that. Getting a sous vide immersion circulator has been my best purchase this year, which cooks meat incredibly juicy and tender.
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