Jibuni

Cook it at home: Kaga jibuni, duck simmered with wheat gluten and shiitake

Make a clean dashi first, because the sauce is mostly dashi. Dust the duck with flour only when it goes in the pot, and keep the simmer low so the slices stay tender and the sauce turns glossy rather than gluey.

Pans and tools

• Medium pot
• Wide shallow pot with a lid
• Fine sieve and paper towels
• Sharp knife

You’ll need

• For the dashi: 10 g (1/3 oz) kombu, 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) cold water, 15 g (1/2 oz) bonito flakes
• 350 g (12 oz) duck breast, skin on, or boneless chicken thighs
• 4 pieces dried wheat gluten (fu), about 25 g (1 oz) total. Use sudare-fu or kuruma-fu if you can find them
• 4 fresh shiitake, stems removed
• 1 small bunch (about 150 g) spinach or komatsuna
• 2 tbsp plain flour, for dusting
• 3 tbsp sake
• 3 tbsp mirin
• 2 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt, for the greens' water
• Fresh wasabi, or good paste from a tube, to finish

Steps

1. Dashi: put the kombu and cold water in a pot and leave 30 minutes. Heat slowly over medium-low for about 10 minutes until tiny bubbles rise at the edges of the pot, about 140F (60C). Lift out the kombu before the water boils.
2. Bring the water to a bare simmer, add the bonito flakes, turn off the heat and leave 2 minutes until they sink. Strain through a paper-towel-lined sieve. You need about 450 ml (scant 2 cups).
3. Soak the fu in cold water for 10 minutes until soft and spongy. Squeeze out the water gently and cut into 1.5 cm (1/2 in) slices.
4. Cut a shallow cross in each shiitake cap. Boil a pot of water with the salt, blanch the spinach 30 seconds until bright green, plunge into cold water, squeeze dry and cut into 4 cm (1 1/2 in) lengths.
5. Slice the duck against the grain into pieces about 5 mm (1/4 in) thick and 4 cm (1 1/2 in) long. Pat dry. Toss the slices in the flour just before cooking, then shake off the excess.
6. Put the dashi, sake, mirin, soy sauce and sugar in a wide pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the shiitake and fu and cook 5 minutes until the mushrooms are soft.
7. Lay the duck slices in one at a time so they do not clump. Simmer very gently for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the pink is gone and the broth turns glossy and lightly thick. Skim any foam.
8. Warm the spinach in the broth for 30 seconds. Divide the duck, fu and mushrooms among shallow bowls, spoon over the sauce until it just coats a spoon, and put a dab of wasabi on top. Serve at once.

Contains: ['gluten', 'soy', 'fish'].

Follow Chef on Pinterest for the dish in every city.