Kamo nanban is a Japanese dish of soba noodles in a hot dashi broth topped with duck. The sous vide duck breast – poultry’s red meat – is perfectly in place here, as is crispy tempura asparagus and green onion puree.
Kamo (duck) nanban (soba in hot dashi) is a common item on Japanese soba noodle restaurant menus. A chicken version, tori nanban, also exists. In addition to the duck, it usually comes topped with leeks or onions. The green onion puree is a nod to that. Tempura would not normally top this dish, though tempura is often served with soba noodles (tensoba). It may not come with the classic version of this dish, but it works so well, so why not.
Sous vide duck breast
As with its lean red meat cousins, cooking duck breasts can require precision timing and temperatures to get the ideal results. Sous vide is my tool of choice. Guides at both Serious Eats and Chef Steps helped make this recipe a success. You can also find delicious sous vide duck breast in this duck phở, on these tacos, and in these spring rolls.
Dashi broth
Underpinning the crispy skin duck in this kamo nanban are soba noodles in a warm soy dashi broth. Umami is the keyword here, enhancing the flavour of the duck. The buckwheat of the soba noodles is nutty and light. Udon, ramen, phở, bún, bánh (the list could go on and on) are all great noodles used in some of the world’s most iconic noodle dishes. What they have in common is that they are there to support the flavour components of the dish. They provide texture but not their own flavour. On the other hand, Soba noodles are tasty in their own right, irrespective of what you serve them with.
Tempura
Some crispy texture is provided in such noodle dishes by tempura, in this case, asparagus tempura. As it only needs to cook for a few seconds, we get the fresh asparagus taste together with the crisp crunch of tempura batter.
Green onion puree
And the last ingredient, though an important one – I debated whether this should be in the title – is the green onion and truffle oil puree. This delicious addition really enhanced the crispy skin duck and complimented the soy dashi broth and soba noodles.
Kamo nanban soba with duck breast and asparagus tempura
Ingredients
Crispy skin duck breast
Green onion drizzle
- 1/2 cup spring onions finely chopped white and green parts.
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp truffle oil
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp water
Soba and dashi broth
- 4 cups dashi
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 200 g soba noodles
Asparagus tempura
- 1 bunch asparagus 8 stalks
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch or corn starch
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup vodka optional
- 1/2 cup very cold soda water or as much as you need to get the right consistency
- Cooking oil for deep frying
Instructions
Marinate the duck breast
- Peel and grate the ginger and peel and crush the garlic.
- Combine the garlic and ginger with the miso, mirin, and soy sauce.
- Trim any loose flaps of skin from the duck breasts.
- Smear the duck meat (not the skin) with the marinade. Put the remaining marinade in the bottom of a dish then place the duck breasts on top, skin side up.
- Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.
Crispy skin duck breast – sous vide
- Wipe any marinade from the duck.
- Make very shallow cuts into the skin, as deep as it takes to get to the layer of fat, but no deeper. This allows more fat to render out. Drain off and retain any rendered fats during the following steps.
- In a cold skillet or non-stick pan, add the duck breasts skin side down and over na medium heat pre sear for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Allow to cool a little then add a smear of the marinade and put into sous vide bags.
- Cook the duck 1 hour 30 minutes at 58 degC.
- Remove from the bags, wipe off any juices, and add back to a hot skillet or non-stick pan skin side down and sear for a further 5 minutes or so, until golden brown.
- Use a spatula to press the breast down flat in order to get an even sear.
- Sear the other side for a minute or two.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes, skin side up.
- Cut the duck breasts into 5-10mm thick slices.
Crispy skin duck breast – traditional
- Wipe any marinade from the duck.
- Make very shallow cuts into the skin, as deep as it takes to get to the layer of fat, but no deeper. This allows more fat to render out.
- Add the duck breasts to a cold skillet or non-stick pan and put over a medium-low heat.
- Use a spatula to press the breast down flat in order to get an even sear.
- Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 15 minutes. The duck’s internal temperature should be about 52 degC. Drain off and retain rendered fat during this time.
- Turn over the chicken breasts and continue cooking until the internal temperature is 58 degC. (or 54 degC if you prefer it closer to medium-rare).
- Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Cut the duck breasts into 5-10mm thick slices.
Green onion drizzle
- Blend all the ingredients together except the water.
- Add a little water if necessary so it reaches a thick cream consistency.
Soba and dashi broth
- Cook the dried soba noodles according to the package, or until al dente.
- Drain the noodles in a collander and place under cold running water to stop the cooking. Allow to drain.
- Add the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sake to a saucepan.
- When nearly ready to serve, bring up to a simmer.
Asparagus tempura
- Rinse the asparagus stalks.
- Cut or break the stalks about 1/3 from the base. Discard the base end, or retain for a stock.
- Whisk together the egg yolk, vodka (if using), and a 1/4 cup of the ice cold soda water.
- Mix together the all purpose flour and the cornflour in a large bowl.
- Pour the egg and water mixture into the flour and stir with chopsticks. Don’t stir too much, there should still be clumps of flour. Add enough of the remaining soda water until you get a suitable batter consistency.
- Bring the cooking oil up to a medium temperature. Add a bit of batter to the oil and if it sizzles, it is hot enough.
- Dip the asparagus spears into the batter, then into the hot cooking oil.
- Afer a minute or so, flip them over.
- When light brown/golden all over, remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
Plating
- Add the drained noodles to the simmering dashi broth and reheat for a minute or two.
- Transfer noodles to warmed bowls and ladle some of the dashi broth over them.
- Top with a few slices of duck, several pieces of asparagus tempura, and a drizzle of the green onion.