Roasted Braised Duck

This roasted braised duck recipe is so good. With a few special ingredients and a little time, you’ll have an amazing, special dinner on your hands.

After living in Beijing for three years, I’ve had many versions of Peking Duck, and I can honestly say that I’m not that crazy about it. How can I say that, you ask? How could I not love the pride and joy of the Beijing?

Well, the thing about Peking duck is…it doesn’t really have a lot of flavor. There, I said it. Everyone tells me that the duck is roasted in an oven fueled by fruit wood, which is supposed to infuse the meat with fruit flavor that I can never smell or taste. If it weren’t for the sauce and the fixings, it would be way to boring. Yeah, the duck is crispy. But where’s the flavor?

In my opinion, Cantonese roast duck is the best but how to cook duck like that at home? While it’s almost impossible to do that dish justice at home, here’s a recipe that comes pretty close and show you how to cook a duck that is super tasty.

You’ll need:

• 1 4-5 lb. duck, innards removed
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 5 slices fresh ginger
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 tablespoon rock sugar (or regular sugar)
• ½ cup Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
• 1 ½ tablespoons dark soy sauce
• ¼ cup light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 star anise
• 6 cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 12 whole peppercorns
• 4-5 pieces of dried orange peel
• 3-4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon honey, mixed with 1 teaspoon warm water

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 or roasting 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.’

Roasted Braised Duck

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour 15 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 4-5 lb. duck, innards removed
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 5 slices fresh ginger
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 tablespoon rock sugar (or regular sugar)
• ½ cup Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
• 1 ½ tablespoons dark soy sauce
• ¼ cup light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 star anise
• 6 cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 12 whole peppercorns
• 4-5 pieces of dried orange peel
• 3-4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon honey, mixed with 1 teaspoon warm water

Instructions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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 leftover in the pot.

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