Donburi Bowl with Duck

A Donburi bowl with duck has to be one of my favourite dishes when I visit Wagamama's but I can still have this dish at home. Best of all there's absolutely nothing difficult about it!

Duck legs are slow cooked until tender and melting then mixed with onions and carrots in a rich teriyaki sauce and served with broccoli, cucumber and spring onions. The whole lot is topped with a fried egg and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Just grab some chop sticks, or a fork for speed and get stuck in!

What are the ingredients?

I am using duck legs for this dish as opposed to breast as in this dish the duck is shredded. Legs are much cheaper than the breast, which is best served pink and sliced thinly. You could use duck breast if you prefer to pan fry it.

I've swapped the sweet potato in the original dish for tender stem broccoli but that is just my preference due to cooking time.

The dish needs teriyaki sauce, either homemade or straight from a bottle.

Other than that, you don't need any special spices.

How to make the donburi bowl.

Start by cooking the duck legs. This does take some time so I normally cook double the amount I need and freeze the leftovers, shredded, in a container so that I just need to thaw the meat and I can have a donburi in minutes.

Wipe the duck legs dry with kitchen paper and place in a deep sided roasting dish. Prick them all over with a carving fork or a skewer and sprinkle them with salt. Cover the dish with foil and roast at 160 C/310 F/Gas 2.5 for 2 hours.

In the meantime prepare the vegetables. Cut the carrots into julienne strips and finely slice the red onion.

Next prepare the cucumber. I find that cutting cucumbers length ways means that you get strips of watery seeds so I prefer to remove them first.

My tool of choice for this is little scoop used for hulling strawberries, but a grapefruit spoon or teaspoon works just as well.

Cut the cucumber into julienne strips and finely slice the spring onions diagonally.

When the duck has finished the cooking time use a fork to check that it is completely tender. Drain off all the fat. I keep it in a plastic container in the fridge. You will get amazing crispy and tasty roast potatoes if you use duck fat.

Use two forks to pull the meat off the bones and shred it.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and fry the carrots and onions for about 5 minutes until just cooked.

Put the rice on to cook. I use basmati rice, which normally takes 10 minutes.

Add the duck and teriyaki sauce to the pan for 5 minutes until hot.

Cook the broccoli while the duck is heating. I prefer to microwave it in 2 cm of water for about 4 minutes.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the eggs to your liking. I do them 2 at a time.

Now it's time to plate up the duck donburi.

In individual serving bowls add a layer of rice. Put the duck mixture in one corner, the spring onions and cucumber in another , then broccoli and finally the fried eggs.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

The combination of the hot duck and rice with the cool spring onions and cucumber makes this dish lighter than you would expect. Add to that the yolk of the egg spilling over the rice and you will be in heaven!

Food safety

We sometimes take for a granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience, that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.

• Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove