Why this formula works
This is explicitly a Chinese-inspired pizza, not traditional Peking duck. The quantities make duck and hoisin unmistakable, but 180 g sauce is split: a thick layer bakes, a tamari-vinegar portion glazes hot duck after. Cucumber and onion greens remain cold, while five spice and chili oil add depth without turning the sweet-savory sauce muddy.
Honest timing
| Active preparation | 25 min |
| Hydration / proof / preheat | 1 h |
| Cooking / baking | 10 min |
| Elapsed total | 1 h 35 min |
Ingredients
- mature room-temperature pizza dough ball300 g (10.6 oz)
- fully cooked roast duck meat with some crisp skin, shredded300 g (10.6 oz)
- thick hoisin sauce containing wheat, soy and sesame, divided180 g (6.3 oz)
- low-moisture mozzarella, coarsely grated120 g (4.2 oz)
- seedless cucumber, cut into 4 mm matchsticks150 g (5.3 oz)
- spring onions, whites and greens separated and thinly sliced80 g (2.82 oz)
- toasted sesame seeds20 g (0.71 oz)
- gluten-free tamari soy sauce20 g (0.71 oz)
- unseasoned rice vinegar20 g (0.71 oz)
- Chinese five-spice powder1 g
- chili oil, divided20 g (0.71 oz)
Equipment
- small saucepan
- fine sieve
- clean towels
- pizza steel or heavy inverted sheet
- pizza peel
- digital scale
- rack
Exact method
- 1. Preheat using the loaded-pizza table below. Crisp fully cooked duck in a dry skillet for 3–4 minutes, skin side down where possible. Keep the meat moist and remove only excess free fat.
- 2. Mix 50 g hoisin with tamari, rice vinegar, five spice and 10 g chili oil. Toss 40 g of this glaze through hot duck and reserve the remainder.
- 3. Cut cucumber into matchsticks, blot very dry and keep cold. Separate spring-onion whites from greens.
- 4. Open the 300 g dough to 32 cm with a 1.5–2 cm rim. Move to a lightly dusted peel and confirm it slides.
- 5. Spread remaining 130 g hoisin, add mozzarella, glazed duck and spring-onion whites in an even layer.
- 6. Bake with the matching loaded setup below; on steel allow 7–10 minutes and rotate once. Pull when the base is brown, duck is steaming and sauce caramelizes at the edge without burning.
- 7. Rest 60 seconds on a rack. Add cucumber, spring-onion greens, sesame, reserved tamari-vinegar glaze and remaining 10 g chili oil.
- 8. Cut into eight narrow slices and serve immediately while cucumber is cold and duck remains hot.
How to know it is ready
- Duck is steaming with crisp skin edges and moist meat.
- Hoisin is glossy and caramelized, never black or bitter.
- Cucumber remains cold, dry and crisp.
- Sweet, salty, sour, aromatic and hot elements remain distinct.
Troubleshooting
- Burnt sauce: use the loaded profile and keep hoisin inside the rim.
- Dry duck: crisp only the skin side and do not preheat meat twice.
- Wet cold topping: avoid the cucumber seed core and blot matchsticks.
- Too sweet: use the full tamari-rice-vinegar glaze and chili oil after baking.
How to adapt the base recipe
- For chicken, use 300 g fully cooked roasted thigh and keep the glaze unchanged.
- For less sweetness, reduce baked hoisin by 30 g and replace it with 30 g thick unsalted tomato.
- For 35 cm, use 340 g dough, 380 g duck, 220 g hoisin, 150 g mozzarella and 190 g cucumber.
Storage and food safety
Serve immediately. Refrigerate within 2 hours for up to 2 days. Remove cucumber and greens, reheat duck and pizza to 74°C / 165°F, then add fresh cold garnish.
Allergens
Gluten (wheat), Milk, Sesame, Soy Depending on the selected product, may also contain: Sulphites.
Always verify every label and cross-contact risk; brand formulations can change.