Succulent and Flavourful Cantonese Roast Duck
My recipe below is not the most perfect, but rather fail-proof enough to accomplish the goal: juicy and succulent roast duck with crackling crisp skin. You can pair them with a variety of condiments but I love to have them tucked into mandarin pancakes with julienned spring onions and cucumber/kyuri. Then you just dip the rolled up pancake in a hoisin + minced garlic + sesame oil sauce. Just like how we eat Peking duck! Super yum! Scroll below for the full recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 medium size duck 2-3kg
- 2-4 tsp salt
For the marinade
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp spring onions finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine/dry sherry/equivalent
- 1 tbsp fermented yellow soy bean sauce (taucu)
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
For the glaze
- 1/4 cup honey/maltose syrup
- 1/2 tsp red food colouring/red beet/pomegranate juice optional
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup warm water
Instructions
- Clean the duck well. Cut away the lumps of fat inside the cavity. Pat dry with paper towel.
- Rub salt over the entire duck. Refrigerate overnight, about 12 hours.
- Saute onions, ginger, and garlic till fragrant. Add remaining marinade ingredients. Once it’s boiling, lower the fire and simmer for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Remove duck from the fridge. Tie the duck’s neck tightly with twine. Pour the marinade into the cavity and sew it securely with a trussing needle.
- Place the duck head-down into a pot of boiling water. Ladle boiling water over any exposed portions of skin until it has contracted and tightened. The skin will look like tiny goosebumps.
- Air dry the duck by hanging it head-down with a S hook through its neck. Place a pan underneath to catch any drip. Or place it on a cooling rack with a tray beneath and refrigerate uncovered. Air dry for 4-5 hours.
- Measure maltose/honey into a small bowl, add rice vinegar and red colouring (if using). Dissolve with warm water. Brush mixture all over the duck. Repeat this step twice.
- Preheat oven to 200C. Hang the duck in the oven or place on a rack above a baking pan. After you’ve placed the duck inside in the oven, insert a tray of boiling water at the bottom of the oven. Roast for 25 minutes. At the end, baste with the glaze.
- Lower the heat to 180C and roast for another 30 minutes, basting again with the glaze.
- The duck is fully cooked if you’re able to slice into the thickest part of the thigh easily, or when a thermometer inserted into the thigh measures 80C.
- Remove and let it cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. Snip away the twine to drain the juices inside the duck. The juices can be used as a side gravy; just skim the fat off the surface, bring to a boil in a pan and simmer for 2 minutes to thicken the gravy.
Notes
Storage tips:
- Store in an airtight container in a fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, simply remove from the fridge and let it sit in room temperature for 20 minutes then reheat in the oven at 163C for 30 minutes to get the skin crispy.
- To freeze, de-bone the duck, cut the meat into sizeable portions and store in freezer zip lock bags. It can be freeze up to 4 months. To reheat, transfer the duck to the fridge and leave overnight to thaw. Remove and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before reheating (follow the steps at point 1 to reheat).