Another amazing drink from Japan is the "plum" liquor Umeshu which is actually made of the ume fruit. So far we have tested three different Umeshu's.. all of them have been completely different- some very sweet and sugary, some slightly sour. Delicous with an ice-cube or two as an aperitif!
Japanese Duck in sweet sake&soy sauce
1 teaspoon dashi powder or two bags of miso soup extract
3 dl of sake
1 dl of soy sauce
3/4 dl of mirin
1/2 dl sugar
2 tablespoons peanut oil (or sesame oil)
1 duck breast skinned and fat removed
0,5 dl finely chopped spring onion
In a small saucepan, stir the dashi powder into 1 cup of water until dissolved or add the miso extract to pan as it is (no extra water). Immediately add the sake, soy sauce, mirin and sugar and bring to boil. Simmer over moderately low heat until syrupy and reduced to max 2 dl, about 1 hour. Transfer all but 1dl of the sauce to a jar and reserve for later use.
In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil over moderate heat until shimmering. Add the duck breasts and cook until almost medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side. Add the reserved 1dl of sauce to the pan and cook the duck breasts for 4 minutes longer, swirling the pan and turning the duck once or twice until glazed. Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
Transfer the duck to a platter, cut in slices and drizzle with the glaze from the pan. Sprinkle the duck with the spring onion.
Serve with cucumber salad and rice or/and rice-balls filled with a tiny bit of wasabi! Don't forget the sake!
