Punchy Smoked Duck Stir Fry with Mixed Vegetables

I'm definitely not washing up tonight...

However much i enjoy cooking, i don't always want to spend hours in the kitchen making something wonderfully complicated after a day at work and with various chores to do once returning home. Stir fry is an easy go to option in this instance. I don't like buying pre-made sauces, they always have a chemical after-taste, mixing up some citrus, soy, heat and sweet takes seconds and yields much tastier results.

I've included smoked duck in this recipe, which isn't that easy to obtain, unless you have a budget German supermarket near you, not the one beginning with 'A', the other one. Look out in the special offers section, a couple of times a year it pops up at a really reasonable price and can be used like any other cured meat. The fat is great in this recipe as you don't need to bother using oil, plus both duck and goose fat are healthy animal fats.

I really enjoy the combination of punchy flavours in this dish, but nothing seems to overwhelm the individual ingredients, it enhances them. You could always use tofu and marinate in the sauce if you're vegetarian/vegan and substitute the duck fat for a tablespoon of sunflower oil or similar, or if you can't find smoked duck, chicken or pork would work well too. Use your imagination with the vegetables, whatever you have lying around is usually fine, tomatoes or harder roots are probably a no-no.

If you're canny it takes around 20 mins from start to finish and doesn't have the mountain of washing up some 'quick' recipes can create.

Punchy Smoked Duck Stir Fry with Mixed Vegetables

1/2 a pack of sliced smoked duck

2 carrots, scrubbed and julienned 

4 spring onions, snipped up

4 large or 6 smaller cabbage leaves, central stalk removed and shredded

2 handfulls of mushrooms, quartered

3 cloves garlic

thumb sized piece of ginger

juice of 1 lime

4 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp hot pepper sauce

1 1/2 tsp fig vinegar

2 sachets of straight to wok noodles

Snip the slices of duck with scissors into a hot wok and allow the fat to render, then throw in the mushrooms,  spring onions and carrots and coat with the fat, turn the heat down to medium.

Bash the garlic and ginger in a pestle and mortar with a generous pinch of salt, then throw in to the wok and fry gently.

Rinse the shredded cabbage and drain, then throw in to the wok and mix up.

I usually turn the heat down and stick a lid on (not technically stir fry, I know) while mixing the sauce and opening the noodles.

Quickly stir fry the noodles till they're separated and pour in the sauce. Cook on a high heat for 2-4 minutes, whatever you're comfortable with.

Serve with a fruity Italian red.