The duck breast is pan-seared until golden brown to achieve a tender meat with a slightly crispy and chewy skin. Wrapped in a soft and fluffy bao bun, and garnished with a handful of cilantro and chopped spring onions, every single bite is a mouthful of happiness! Using just 3 ingredients to make the sweet and sour sauce, this recipe is easy enough to make at home, yet impressive enough to present the buns as a snack in a family gathering.
When I first tried this recipe, I was amazed by the combination of various flavours. The sweet and sour duck breasts pair perfectly well with the sweet, chewy gua bao, offering a delicious balance of flavours. The duck breasts soak up the thick sweet and sour sauce as they simmer with softened onions, making the dish incredibly flavourful! Combined with the fresh, crunchy cilantro and spring onions, this adds a refreshing note to the dish as well.
Table of contents
Ingredients for sweet-and-sour duck breast bun
- Duck breast: This recipe uses one duck breast.
- Gua bao (or lotus leaf bun): Gua bao is a steamed Chinese bun that is commonly used as a sandwich bun with fillings inside. It is sweet, soft, and chewy.
- Onions: The onions are cooked till soft to add aroma and flavour to the sauce. When simmered together with duck breasts, the sauce infuses into them from inside out.
- Black vinegar: The sour flavour of black vinegar adds tanginess and depth to the sauce, making it more distinctive and aromatic.
- Sugar: This adds sweetness to the sauce. Together with black vinegar, it creates a sweet-and-sour flavour to the dish.
- Soy sauce: This adds depth to the flavour by giving an extra note of savouriness to the dish, making it more flavourful.
- Cilantro and spring onions: These are for garnishing the dish. Their distinctive flavours enhance the textures and overall flavour profile of the dish.
- Oil: For pan-searing the duck breast and cooking the sauce.
How to make sweet-and-sour duck breast bun
- Steam the gua bao for 10 minutes.
- Cut the duck breast skin in a check pattern.
- Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Pan-sear the duck breast skin side down. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Prepare the seasoning sauce while cooling the duck breast. Mix together black vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Set aside.
- Slice the cooked duck breast into pieces.
- Using the same pan, heat some oil over medium-high heat, then cook the onions until they become translucent and fragrant.
- Add in sliced duck breasts and the seasoning sauce. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes, bring the heat down, and simmer until the sauce thickens.
- Assemble the bun by combining the sweet-and-sour duck breasts, cilantro, and chopping spring onions as the filling.
What is Gua Bao?
A gua bao is a type of lotus leaf bun originated from the Fujianese cuisine in China. It is a Chinese steamed bun with a flattened oval shape that is folded in half for filling, making it a Chinese style sandwich bun. Similar to mantou (饅頭), gua bao has a super soft and fluffy texture with a sweet flavour. Stuffed with savoury fillings inside, it offers a perfect balance of sweet and savoury flavours. Popular in Taiwan as a snack or appetiser, gua bao is traditionally made with a fluffy and sweet lotus leaf bun stuffed with braised pork belly, cilantro, pickled mustard greens, and crushed peanuts.
Success tips on making sweet-and-sour duck breast bun
Pan-sear the whole duck breast before slicing.
By pan-searing the entire duck breast before slicing into pieces and simmering in the sauce, this creates a crispier skin with tender and juicy duck breast meat inside. If you pan-sear individual pieces from the beginning, the duck breasts will easily become dry and tough.
Cut the skin in a check pattern.
This allows the duck breast to cook up more easily and will be presented more nicely and beautifully in the dish.
Cook the duck breast skin side down.
As you cook the duck breast skin side down, the heat transfers upwards to the meat through the skin, maintaining its moisture, and thus making it juicy and tender.
Popular substitutions & additions
- Make the traditional way: Instead of making sweet-and-sour duck breasts, you can make the traditional way which includes braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens, and coriander.
- Add veggies: You can add in more veggies to make the dish more nutritious and fulfilling, a hamburger-like bun, such as mushrooms, and lettuce.
- Switch to a meat of your choice: You can always replace duck breasts with your own choice of meat, such as shredded chicken breasts, thinly sliced beef or pork.
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Sweet-and-Sour Duck Breast Bun
Equipment
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Steamer or pot
Ingredients
- 3 lotus leaf buns or bao bun
- 1 duck breast
- ½ red onion sliced
- 2-3 tbsp oil
- fresh cilantro (for garnishing)
- fresh spring onions chopped (for garnishing)
For the sweet-and-sour sauce
- 1½ tbsp black vinegar
- 1-2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
Cook the duck breast
- Cut the duck breast skin in a check pattern.
- Heat some oil over medium-high heat. Pan-sear the duck breast skin side down in a frying pan until golden brown.
- When it's 80% cooked, remove it from the pan. Let cool and rest for 5 minutes.
Prepare the sweet-and-sour sauce
- As the duck breast cools, make the sweet and sour sauce. Mix together black vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Set aside.
- Slice the cooled duck breast into pieces.
- Using the same pan, heat some oil over medium-high heat. Add in sliced onions and cook until they begin to become translucent.
- Add in sliced duck breasts and seasoning sauce. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes, bring the heat down, and simmer until the sauce thickens.
Assemble the bun
- In a lotus leaf bun, or bao bun, place a handful of fresh cilantro and 2-3 pieces of sweet-and-sour duck breasts, then garnish with chopped spring onions.