Local peking duck, poached egg, rice noodles, spring peas, mustard greens, radish & leek.
I recently had the opportunity to do a guest chef night at Peeves Public House in Fresno, California. Peeves is trailblazing the Fresno food scene and offering a daily seasonal menu from Head Chef, Sean Dunn. I had the pleasure of planning a menu with Sean and he was gracious enough to let me loose in his kitchen. I was thrilled! The walk-in was loaded with wonderful local veggies from KmK Farms, fresh fennel, spring peas, radishes, mustard greens and my favorite peking duck, sourced from Mary's Ducks in Central California. As a starter we put out a simple fennel carrot slaw with mustard greens, romaine and a honey mustard aioli. For the noodle bowl, Sean prepared an aromatic broth with our vegetable scraps and pressure cooked the ducks, taking about an hour and half (as we only had 3 hours to prep for 60 covers, so pressure cooking saved us sometime). This dish was really a culmination of my favorite things about pho & ramen and really playing with textures and highlighting fresh seasonal produce. Noodle bowls is all about presentation and customization. Breaking a poached egg into the broth, nibbling on fresh greens, savoring the duck breast, slurping noodles…it’s a dynamic experience. Noodle bowls are also quite easy, and though I wouldn't recommend serving 8 of them a once (which happened during service) if it’s your first time, it really is a great way to enjoy your leftover veggies and meat. Making your own stock isn't necessary, but it is one of the simplest things to do, and you feel like you’re recycling your scraps and getting free soup in the process! Preparing stock also allows you to control the sodium level and mix those preservatives found in most store bought stocks. Though I used some out of this world ingredients for this bowl, you can really throw anything into some broth with noodles and be a happy camper!
Peking Duck Noodle Bowl
serves 4
BROTH
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Bones from 1 duck
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 inches fresh ginger, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 orange, quartered
Salt and pepper
In a stock pot, bring oil to temperature and cook bones for roughly 5 minutes. Add onions, celery and carrots stir until caramelized(about 10 minutes). Season with ginger, garlic, peppercorns and orange. Slowly add 16 cups of room temperature water, making sure to scrap up the flavor on the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 2-3 hours uncovered, tasting intermediately.
Garnishes
1 pound spring peas sliced
1 bunch red mustard green, chiffonade
1 cup chopped scallions or leeks, chiffonade
1 cup radishes
1 tablespoon soy sauce/ fish sauce
1 package rice noodles (about a pound)
2 cooked duck breasts
Thai basil, for garnish
Handful bean sprouts
Lime slices, for garnish
Sriracha sauce, for serving
Bring broth to a boil, add noodles and boil until tender, about 3-5 minutes (depending on brand). Remove from broth and add to bowl. Top with veggies, duck breast, and garnish as desired! Don't forget, slurping noodles is a compliment to the chef.