Duck Chow Mein with Hoisin Sauce

Duck chow mein a delicious take on the classic Chinese noodle-based takeaway favourite, my version adds hoisin sauce for a real flavour boost.

The hoisin sauce is a nod to the classic flavours of duck and pancakes and this whole dish takes around half an hour to cook!

Hoisin Duck Breast Lo Mein

The names lo mein and chow mein once denoted the difference between a crisp and wet noodle dish. But today the names have kinda melded into one, certainly here in Europe!

I love a good chow mein and chicken chow mein or beef chow mein was the thing I used to order most often from a Chinese takeaway.

My duck chow mein recipe is a delicious departure from a tradional dish.

Just like my mushroom chow mein this recipe replaces oyster sauce with hoising sauce. The former is aimed at keeping a recipe vegetarian, however in this recipe it is all about flavour!

Let’s face it duck and hoisin sauce is an absolute classic combination, duck, pancakes and hoisin anyone?

This recipe uses the cold pan method of starting off the duck breast, it is the same way I cook my duck breast in orange sauce.

It renders out the fat beautifully and leads to a wonderful texture in the skin. As a bonus it leaves loads of delicious duck fat in the base of the wok. This adds an incredible mouth feel and flavour to this duck and noodle stir fry.

But because duck fat has a low smoking point, your smoke alarm may go off when cooking this!

If you like the idea of a duck breast stir fry check out my duck and plum stir fry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use duck breast?

No, you could use any duck in this chow mein recipe, it is particularly good with leftovers.

I’ve made this with leftovers from my whole roast duck and even roasted an extra leg when cooking my crispy roast duck legs or hoisin duck legs and used them the following day.

Yes, I like cooking duck, I have lots of recipes, if you want more type “duck” into the search function!

Can I use other vegetables?

Yes, use anything you like or have to hand. Just add them to the wok in descending order of cooking time. Be sure to cut them into bite-sized pieces!

My stir-fries usually end up “soggy” what am I doing wrong?

There are two keys to keeping a stir fry fresh, speed and heat!

You need to do all of the prep work for your stir fry in advance because you genuinely do not have time to prep or hunt for ingredients when you start. Invest in some small bowls and arrange them in order of adding them to the wok

Secondly and the one most often people fail with is not having the wok hot enough. It needs to be “smoking hot”. As I have mentioned earlier because duck fat has a relatively low smoking point this will be extra smoky!

Can I use glass or rice noodles?

It would not be a choice that I would make, however, they work relatively well in this dish.

Serving Suggestions

I tend not to serve this duck chow mein with a side, instead I am fond of serving it with a starter.

I do this becaucse I’m a bit of a greedy chap when it comes to takeaway inspired food!

Crispy spring rolls or prawn toast are a great option, as are Chinese spare ribs if you are scaling this up to feed a crowd.

However, most often I will start off with a soup of some description. My Chinese influenced hot and sour soup, or chicken and sweetcorn soup are my favourites.

Oh yeah, don’t forget the prawn crackers!

Equipment Used

I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questons feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Stovetop.
• Wok, I use a large carbon steel wok.
• Kitchen tongs.
• Stirring spoon.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• Weihing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
• Mixing/prep bowls.
• Sieve or colander.