In light of the upcoming and widely celebrated Chinese New Year, my friends and I took the opportunity to indulge in a night of home-made Asian fusion.
Always seeking new flavours to try and cooking methods to master, the two dishes I chose to prepare were the Peking Duck Pancakes with Spicy Plum Sauce and the Black Sesame Icecream with Sesame Wonton Crisps.
Inspiration for the icecream came from recent rendezvous at Brisbane's Emporium's Sushi Train - Ginga, where we spotted the frosty favourite in two very unusual flavours - Green Tea and Sesame Seed. However, not yet Green Tea converted, and deciding homemade icecream was already detering enough without tainting the idea with an extra daring flavour, I settled for Sesame, and used Gordon Ramsay's book World Kitchen for the recipe. Myth - homemade icecream is near impossible to prepare...to that I say "beat it, heat it, mix it, crush it, whip it, fold it, freeze it" - it really is that simple (click here for recipe). Myth busted!
After conquering dessert, I was right to think that Peking Duck Pancakes would be no such challenge. I do however, owe half my luck to Luv-a-Duck for being available in supermarkets all week round when the local butcher (The Meat-ing Place) kindly tells me "Duck breast? Why, that's not in 'til Friday!?".
Not quite mentally prepared to take on a whole duck, head and all, and accepting Jamie Oliver's advice not to make the pancakes from scratch, I purchased a pre-prepared Peking Duck Pancake pack. Despite still being required to oven bake the duck flesh and then grill the skin, as well as having to heat the pancakes and Julienne the Cucumber and Spring Onion (not included in pack), and concoct a Spicy Plum sauce (not included in pack) from scratch, I will never again sacrifice quality to save time. I can safely say next time Peking Duck comes-a-quacking, buttery homemade mini crepes will be welcomed as a substitute for rubbery shop-bought pancakes. For the Spicy Plum sauce recipe and buttery crepe recipe click here.
Menu
Appetiser
Classic Multicoloured Prawn Chips
Fortune Cookies
Entree
Peking Duck Pancakes with Hoisin or Spicy Plum Sauce
Vietnamese Chicken Rice Paper Rolls with Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce
Main
Honey Soy Chicken Wings
Traditional Fried Rice
Dessert
Black Sesame Icecream with Sesame Wonton Crisps
Drink
Lemon Iced Tea
Always seeking new flavours to try and cooking methods to master, the two dishes I chose to prepare were the Peking Duck Pancakes with Spicy Plum Sauce and the Black Sesame Icecream with Sesame Wonton Crisps.
Inspiration for the icecream came from recent rendezvous at Brisbane's Emporium's Sushi Train - Ginga, where we spotted the frosty favourite in two very unusual flavours - Green Tea and Sesame Seed. However, not yet Green Tea converted, and deciding homemade icecream was already detering enough without tainting the idea with an extra daring flavour, I settled for Sesame, and used Gordon Ramsay's book World Kitchen for the recipe. Myth - homemade icecream is near impossible to prepare...to that I say "beat it, heat it, mix it, crush it, whip it, fold it, freeze it" - it really is that simple (click here for recipe). Myth busted!
After conquering dessert, I was right to think that Peking Duck Pancakes would be no such challenge. I do however, owe half my luck to Luv-a-Duck for being available in supermarkets all week round when the local butcher (The Meat-ing Place) kindly tells me "Duck breast? Why, that's not in 'til Friday!?".
Not quite mentally prepared to take on a whole duck, head and all, and accepting Jamie Oliver's advice not to make the pancakes from scratch, I purchased a pre-prepared Peking Duck Pancake pack. Despite still being required to oven bake the duck flesh and then grill the skin, as well as having to heat the pancakes and Julienne the Cucumber and Spring Onion (not included in pack), and concoct a Spicy Plum sauce (not included in pack) from scratch, I will never again sacrifice quality to save time. I can safely say next time Peking Duck comes-a-quacking, buttery homemade mini crepes will be welcomed as a substitute for rubbery shop-bought pancakes. For the Spicy Plum sauce recipe and buttery crepe recipe click here.
Menu
Appetiser
Classic Multicoloured Prawn Chips
Fortune Cookies
Entree
Peking Duck Pancakes with Hoisin or Spicy Plum Sauce
Vietnamese Chicken Rice Paper Rolls with Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce
Main
Honey Soy Chicken Wings
Traditional Fried Rice
Dessert
Black Sesame Icecream with Sesame Wonton Crisps
Drink
Lemon Iced Tea
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