Roast Duck Pizza with Figs and Arugula

Is roast duck pizza the stuff of elitist, snobbish celebrity chefs? Or simple to whip up on your own? What do you think it is? This roast duck pizza with figs and arugula, and sweet hoisin drizzle is unbeatable. With this recipe, try making it on your own!

If we’re talking about famous chefs, a few weeks ago, I was watching an episode of Jamie at Home, specifically the pizza episode, and yeah, I did feel the sudden urge to dress some fresh greens, slap ’em over a boiling hot pizza from an outdoor brick oven, and dish it up on a rustic old cutting board. Is he just a setup, or what?

Given that duck is readily available and inexpensive in Beijing, it would be a shame not to incorporate it into more of the city’s cuisine. Since duck legs seem to be in endless supply, but duck breasts seem to disappear into thin air, we opted to do something about the situation and prepare roast duck pizza.

For a vegan, vegetarian, or animal lover (not necessarily in that order), I’m sure all this mention of duck…parts sounds fairly horrific, and there are moments when I seriously consider becoming one. Yes, I do mean that.

That’s not the case, though, today. It’s not today, so forget about it.

Now, onto the actual cooking!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE DUCK:

• 3 duck legs with skin on
• 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine
• 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon of five spice powder
• 1/8 teaspoon of pepper

FOR THE PIZZA:

• 225g of grated mozzarella cheese
• 4 figs (sliced)
• 1 recipe of fool-proof pizza dough
• 1 cup of arugula
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon of five spice powder
• salt and black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Duck legs must be washed and dried before cooking. Duck can be marinated by combining all of the marinade ingredients and then applying it liberally. Although it’s not required, marinating the duck for at least a night is recommended.
2. The dough recipe serves 4, but any extra can be stored in the freezer for another time.
3. After placing the duck in a sheet pan that has been covered in foil, bake it for an hour at a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After 45 minutes in the oven, finish the duck off under the broiler to brown the skin. Once the meat has cooled, remove it from the bone and shred it using a fork or your hands. With a rubber spatula, deglaze the roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of boiling water. Don’t mess around; toss the meat in with the pan drippings and duck fat. If you’re worried about the amount of duck fat in the pan, you can remove part of it before you deglaze the pan. Leave your cute duck there.
4. Mix water, soy, hoisin, rice wine vinegar, honey, salt, and five spice in a small saucepan over low heat. Ignore it for the time being. Turn your oven up to its highest setting. You won’t be able to replicate the pizzeria’s oven temperatures exactly, but you should get as near as you can. Our Beijing oven reached nearly 475 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. The quantity of ingredients in this recipe is sufficient to make two pizzas of medium size. Pizza dough should be rolled out on a baking sheet, and a light coating of sauce should be applied before the pizzas are baked. Some of the duck fat can be used for this. Decorate with fig pieces and a sprinkle of cheese, and shredded duck.
6. Put it for ten to fifteen minutes in a preheated oven. Sprinkle arugula that has been lightly tossed in extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper over the finished pizza. Add a few more drops of sauce and serve the Roast Duck Pizza with Figs and Arugula!