If you enjoy roast duck and want to spice it up, then this is the recipe for you.
Ingredients:
- One 4-5 lb duck, innards removed
- 1 tbsp oil
- 5 slices fresh ginger
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 tbsp rock sugar (or regular sugar)
- 1/2 cup Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
- 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 star anise
- 6 cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 12 whole peppercorns
- 4-5 pices of dried orange peel
- 3-4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon honey, mixed with 1 teaspoon of warm water
Instructions:
Rinse the duck inside and out and thoroughly pat dry. Remove the tail. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok over medium heat, and swirl it around to coat the wok.
Lower the duck into the wok breast side down, and let the skin brown and crisp up slightly.
Spoon the oil over the parts of the duck that aren’t touching the oil. You will end up with a lot more oil than you started with, as the fat renders out of the duck. Turn off the heat.
In a large pot (big enough to accommodate the duck laying flat) over medium heat, add a tablespoon of the fat from the wok, and cook the ginger and garlic for about 1 minute. Stir in the sugar until it’s melted.Add the cooking wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, rice vinegar, anise, cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, dried orange peels, 3 cups water and the duck. The liquid should come up about halfway up the duck. Add a little more water as needed.
Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 50-60 minutes, flipping the bird every 15 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly.
Carefully lift the duck out and drain all the liquid from the cavity, Place the duck on a V-rack set on a baking sheet. breast side up. Brush the duck all over with honey water. Set aside and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Roast the duck for 12-15 minutes, until the skin is crispy. Watch it closely to prevent burning. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving. You can serve it just like that, or with some of the sauce left over in the pot. I actually cooked another dish using the sauce the next day: napa cabbage and cellophane noodles. Just cut the cabbage into strips and stir-fry in a bit of oil. Add the softened cellophane noodles and stir. Then add the leftover sauce, cover, and cook for a couple minutes. Season with salt to taste, and serve. Yum.
