Izakaya Revisited

Historically, Izakaya in Japan is an establishment where Japanese men have a few, or too many, drinks after work with their colleagues.  Tapas-styled dishes are served probably to help soak up the alcohol so that they can find their way home to their wives and family.

Since we were hosting a small gathering to celebrate the relocation to Toronto of our dear friends James and Mark, what would be a better hors d'oeuvres to serve at a cocktail party then another dish from my Izakaya cookbook (Mark Robinson)? My guests would eventually need to find their way home too after all.

Sliced Duck Breast with Ponzu Sauce


2 boneless Duck Breasts with skin
1 tsp Olive oil
Ponzu sauce
2 Leeks
salt and pepper
shredded diakon radish
sriracha hot sauce or pepper paste


1. Pre heat oven at 400 degrees. Trim any silver off flesh side and pierce skin at several places.  Rub entire breast with salt and pepper.  In a frying pan heat olive oil to hot over medium heat.  Add duck, skin side down, sear till fat is rendered and skin golden crispy brown.
2. Transfer duck to roasting pan, fat side up and roast for 4 minutes for medium rare, 5 for medium.
3. While hot, marinate in ponzu sauce for 3 hours.
4. Grill leeks with medium flame until outside is a bit charred and the inside is soft.  When cool,remove outer layer and cut into bite size pieces.
5. Cut duck breasts diagonally slices and fold over leek, with a dab of rsiracha hot sauce.  Garnish with daikon radish.

Ponzu sauce is a Japanese citrus-based sauce, yellowish in colour.  I do have to confess there is a recipe for making the sauce from scratch but the Japanese grocery store, where I could source some specific ingredients,  is not as conveniently located as my refrigerator. There was ample ponzu sauce left over from the night of the tuna tartare.

The process was fairly simple, the frying of the duck took a little longer than expected, about 20 to 25 minutes. While the leeks had to be cut into smaller portions than planned because I was running out, definitely need 3 leeks for 2 breasts.

The first taste test was, how would I put it, underwhelming perhaps.  However, the breast slices were cut well and were medium rare.  Just before serving to the guests, my friend Dimitri and I were scoring it about 7  out of ten.

Cocktails and champagne brought me a better final score: the tartness of the ponzu-soaked meat worked wonderfully with the drinks.  I cannot wait to try another recipe from this cookbook!

Final score 7.5/10