Looking for a perfect date night recipe? This Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen recipe delivers a deep flavor over a perfectly cooked duck breast. It's a meal that will definitely impress when the occasion calls for just that!
Time to get your fancypants on, hotshot.
Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen mixes multiple techniques together into a complex tasting dish that you can pull off with a little time and patience at home. I came across a version of this ramen recipe while taking Gordon Ramsay's Masterclass recently. That one came with chicken breast, which is definitely a possibility if you're looking for a more affordable version of this dish. But in this version, we're not only stepping it up with some Duck Breast, we're doing it Sous Vide to achieve a perfect medium cook while keeping a crispy skin. Yum-my!
Mike's Recipe Rundown
- Taste: We embrace Asian flavors with a mix of five spice, ginger, soy and other spices to a deep, complex bite.
- Texture: The duck has crisp skin with perfectly tender meat. It's served upon a warm noodle soup, with hearty pieces of veggies throughout.
- Difficulty - Advanced: This is by no means an impossible meal to make, but it's far from easy. The results from slowly building layers of flavors definitely pays off in the end!
- Pros: This is an awesome special occasion meal, perfect for Valentine's Day, Anniversaries, Mother's Day dinner or more. This is a great meal that will knock the socks off whoever you serve it to.
- Cons: The steps and the price. Not going to hide from it, this is a dish you probably make once or twice a year because of both the number of steps it takes and the cost of duck breast (about $10/breast). That said, when the occasion calls for something special, the payoff is totally worth it!
- Would I make it again? Yes. This is a go-to when I need to pull off something fancy for my wife. Like I said above, this is a once, maybe twice a year dish when I really want to impress.
What is Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen?
If you're not yet familiar with it, I explained what is sous vide cooking in an earlier post. At it's core, Sous Vide cooking slowly brings a piece of meat up to perfectly cooked temp by vacuum sealing it and immersing it in a water bath held to a precise temperature. The result is a flavorful, perfectly cooked medium duck breast that professional chef's strive for, all at home with minimal effort.
Meanwhile, the ramen itself is a far cry from your dorm room cup of noodles. This broth is elevated by infusing it with core Asian flavors that deliver a remarkable and complimentary bite. Pair it with quality Udon noodles for a perfect bite.
Why I Love Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen
This dish tastes way more complex than it is to make. Sous Vide is pretty much the definition of complex cooking made easy. With these techniques, you'll achieve perfectly cooked duck paired with a broth that slowly develops rich Asian flavors. Get ready, you're about to plate something that you'll be talking about for awhile.
When to Make Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen
Two words: Date night. This is an awesome meal to impress your man or woman with a great meal with tons of flavor and some awesome technique. Valentine's Day is coming up soon (as of this posting), and this is absolutely perfect with that. Maybe pair it with a rich chocolate dessert for a perfect night in.
Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen Tips and Tricks
- There are two schools of thought when it comes to Sous Vide Duck Breast, to pre-sear the duck before dropping it in your sous vide or just to wait to the end. I'm all-in on team pre-sear. If you wait to sear it until the very end, the time it takes to get a nice crispy skin will also cause you to unevenly overcook your duck breast. Then, everything you worked for with that sous vide is ruined! Simply sear it first (while the duck is still cold), then seal it, sous vide it, and briefly sear it again at the end to get that perfectly cooked bird.
- This meal required a trip to Whole Foods on top of my normal trip to Publix. Things like Udon Noodles, Shitake Mushroom (available in bulk so I could buy at a reasonable price), baby bok choy and quality udon noodles required a trip to more of a specialty store. You may need to do the same, but it's worth it.
- Under no circumstances should you discard your duck fat. This is the lard of the gods and can be used for a number of dishes. May I suggest my Duck Fat Oven Fries recipe?
Let's Make Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen
Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen - Prepare Broth
Prepare your water bath and set your sous vide to 134.5°. Meanwhile, heat a cast iron pan (affiliate) over medium-high heat. Add a high heat oil like avocado or grape seed, as olive oil has a low smoke point and will really smoke out your kitchen. I used grapeseed oil for mine. Score the skins of the duck breasts by cutting gently through the skin only (not the flesh) in a criss-cross pattern.
Season duck with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and dusting of chinese five spice on both sides. Place duck breasts skin side down in the hot pan. Start the point closest to you down first, laying the breast away from you. This avoids hot oil splashing back on you.
Sear for one minute, until skin turns nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and let site in a pan for five minutes.
Place seared duck breasts in vacuum seal bag along with crushed garlic cloves. Vacuum seal tightly and place in water bath. I always drape the bag over the side of the bowl to keep it from drifting into the circulator. Cook in sous vide bath for 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, add chicken stock to a medium sized sauce pan and warm over medium heat. Add any resting juices from the duck to the pot. Add lemon juice and zest, roughly chopped ginger root and crushed garlic cloves. Cut off stalks of from fresh cilantro and add to pot, reserving leaves for later. Next, sprinkle five spice into pot.
Turn heat up to medium-high to bring pot to rolling boil (note: note a rapid boil, just enough that the sides boil constantly but not the middle). Cook for 5-7 minutes, until broth is reduced by about ⅓.
Lower heat back to medium. Add soy sauce and rice wine vinegar to pot. Return to medium high and boil for another 5 minutes, then reduce to medium-low. You can make the broth 3-4 days ahead of time, keeping it in the fridge to allow the flavors to mingle. If doing this, simply return it to a rolling boil before moving on to the next steps.
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Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen - Time To Cook!
Bring a large pot (affiliate) of water to boil and cook your udon noodles according to instructions on package. Cook to al dente tenderness. Strain and place in large mixing bowl (affiliate). Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
When duck breast is nearly done, bring a cast iron pan (affiliate) to heat over medium-high heat. Add grapeseed oil to pan and remove duck breast from bag. Sear duck breast again for one minute, crisping that skin back up after it's long sous vide bath. Remove and let rest while you move on (at least 10 minutes).
Lower head to medium and add more grape seed oil, along with a small spoonful of sesame oil.
Add shitake mushrooms to pan. The mushrooms will quickly soak up the oil, simply allow them to cook and it will release moisture back in a bit. After about 2 minutes, add cold butter. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
Next, add sliced baby bok choy to pan, stirring around to cook through. After 1-2 minutes, add roughly chopped snap peas. Another minute later, add chopped scallions and continue to stir and saute. Cook until veggies are about 80% done, as they'll finish in the warm broth on the plate.
Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen - Finish the broth
After ramen broth has reduced by about half, strain broth through a mesh strainer (affiliate) to catch all of your aromatics. Drop in plucked whole cilantro leaves and delicately add a small spoonful of sesame oil to pot.
Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen - Time to Plate
Grab a large carving fork (affiliate) and pick up your cooked udon noodles, draping them neatly over one of the prongs. Using the side of the bowl as an aide, roll the noodles over the form into a nice, compact log. Gently slide to the bottom of your bowl. Spoon sauteed veggies over the top of the noodles, spreading evenly around the bowl.
Slice your duck widthwise into about ½ inch slices. Place duck on top of rolled udon noodles. Pour over any pan juices from when the duck was resting/cut.
Lastly, gently pour your broth into one side of the bowl. The broth will make it's way around the noodles and go around the bowl evenly. Serve hot and enjoy! What a great dish!
Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen
- Total Time: 130 minutes
- Yield: 3 people 1x
Description
Looking for a perfect date night recipe? This Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen recipe delivers a deep flavor over a perfectly cooked duck breast. It's a meal that will definitely impress when the occasion calls for just that!
Ingredients
- 2 duck breasts with skin
- dried udon noodles
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 4 oz shitake mushrooms (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup baby bok choy (cut in half and then sliced into ¼ inch slivers.)
- 4 oz snap peas (roughly chopped)
- 4 scallions (roughly chopped)
- 3 cups chicken stock
- ½ lemon (juice and zest)
- 7 garlic cloves (crushed)
- ½ knob fresh ginger (roughly chopped)
- ¼ bunch cilantro
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (to taste for saltiness)
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (to taste)
- 2 tsp seseme oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- chinese five spice
- 1 tbsp cold butter
Instructions
- Prepare sous vide bath to 134.5°.
- Heat cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add grape seed oil to pan and allow to heat for a minute. Season duck breast with salt, pepper and chinese five spice. Lay cold duck breast in pan, laying down away from you to avoid splatter. Allow duck to sit undisturbed one minute to allow skin to sear. Remove from heat. Add duck breast and 3 cloves of crushed garlic to vacuum seal bag. Place in preheated Sous Vide bath for 90 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add chicken stock and and reserved resting juiced from the duck breast to a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining garlic cloves and ginger root. Cut off stems of cilantro and add only stems to pot. Save leaves for later. Sprinkle in a teaspoon of chinese five spice. Turn heat up to a rolling boil and allow to reduce by ⅓.
- Reduce heat to medium and add soy and rice wine vinegar. Return to rolling boil for about 5 minutes, before reducing heat to medium-low. Meanwhile, cook udon noodles according to directions on package. Cook to al dente tenderness and drain. Place in medium sized mixing bowl (affiliate) and toss with oilve oil, salt and pepper.
- When juice is about done cooking, reheat cast iron pan (affiliate) to medium high heat, again adding grape seed oil for searing. Remove duck from bag and add to pan for one minute, re-searing that skin. Remove from heat to pan while moving on, allowing at least 10 minutes before cook slicing.
- Reduce heat on cast iron to medium and add a tablespoon of grape seed oil, plus a teaspoon of sesame oil. Add sliced shiitake mushrooms. Mushrooms will soak up oil quickly, simply allow to cook, do not add more oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper and and add cold butter. After two minutes, stir in chopped baby bok choy, continuing to stir and saute. Next, add roughly chopped snap peas and scallions to pan and stir. Cook until about 80% done, still with a firm bite. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Strain ramen broth, catch all aromatics and setting aside. Pluck fresh cilantro leaves and add to broth. Next, delicately spoon in one teaspoon of sesame oil. Set aside.
- Using a large carving fork (affiliate), thread udon noddles neatly draped over a single prong. Using the side of the mixing bowl (affiliate), roll noddles into a tight log and gently place in bottom of individual bowl.
- Spoon sauteed veggies over top of noodles. Slice duck breast width wise in ½ inch slices. Place sliced duck on top of noodles. Pour over and resting juices from duck. Lastly, gently pour ramen broth on one side of the bowl, allowing broth to gently find it's way around the bowl. Serve warm and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 120 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Sous Vide
- Cuisine: Asian, Duck, Ramen
Keywords: Ramen recipe, Sous Vide Duck, romantic dinner ideas for two