Duck and Mustard Green Soup

Every time I go to my OB/GYN's, I stop at Nijiya market for a snack. It's a spendy Japanese supermarket with a lot of organic/non-GMO soy products and noodles. I usually get a few items from the deli case for breakfast the next morning, if I get oyako donburi, R and I will eat the rice and chicken, while MZ eats the egg. I bought tamago over and over, thinking she'd love it, but after the third refusal I gave up. But this she likes. She also loves these little tofu nuggets with carrot and edamame in them. And on one occasion, she devoured seaweed salad.

They have "water duck" in the meat department, beautiful little neatly trimmed breasts. I bought them planning a more elaborate dinner, but then we all got a cold. Getting sick always makes me a little manic, and on the first day I made a huge pot of stock. First night we had matzo ball soup (made from a mix, we're sick after all, but with schmaltz, not vegetable oil), then tom kah gai. On the third night, the duck needed to be used. So I did some recipe surfing, and remembered I had some nice mustard greens from my weekend foray to the Alemany farmers market.

This is what I came up with, it was quick and we liked it so much I plan to make it again. I think it would also be good with sai fun (bean thread noodles):

Whisk together 3 T soy sauce, 2 T mirin, 1/2 t five spice and 1 clove garlic, minced. Marinate 2 duck breasts.

Meanwhile, heat 4 cups chicken stock with 1 T soy sauce, 4 coins of peeled ginger and 1 star anise. Place four dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of hot water till softened. Chop the leaves from one bunch of mustard greens into thin strips. Cook one or two bundles of SE Asian rice noodles (the kind you'd use for pho) according to the package instructions (no, really, they're pictographs, you can follow along), drain and set aside.

Pat the duck breasts dry and pan-saute on medium-high heat, about 3 minutes on each side. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips while the duck rests and add them to the soup, then slice the breasts into thin slices. Add the mustard greens to the soup, and stir.

When the greens have wilted, divide the noodles into two or three large Chinese-style soup bowls. Ladle the soup on top, distributing the greens and mushrooms evenly. Fan the duck slices on top and serve, with Sriracha and oyster sauce on the side.

Riff references: Asian Greens, New Food Fast