Chinese Duck Recipes

Duck is more commonly used in China than in the West, thus there are more Chinese duck recipes available. It might be because a greater variety of ways to prepare duck. The Chinese are credited with being the first to raise ducks for food, over 4,000 years ago.

Ducks are slow-boiled, red-cooked, or roasted, but very rarely stir-fried. There are several ways of salting ducks. One form is to salt them, dry in the sun, and then cook by steaming. Another form is to store in vegetable oil and take out to steam as needed. These forms are very common in Guangdong.

Beijing Duck (Peking duck)

Probably the most famous of all Chinese dishes, though not necessarily the best, Beijing duck (Peking duck) is certainly an excellent dish. One could say the dish is China's national dish. It's a dish which dates back several hundreds of years. In Yangshuo too, you can get some really good Beijing duck (Cloud 9 does a good one)

Ducks are bred specially for the dish, which after 65 days are slaughtered and seasoned before it is roasted in a closed oven or a hung oven. The meat is often eaten with pancakes, spring onions and hoisin sauce. A variant of the dish known as crispy aromatic duck has been created by the Chinese community in the United Kingdom. The two most notable restaurants in Beijing which serve this delicacy are Quanjude and Bianyifang, two centuries old establishments which have become household names.

But how to make it at home?

Ingredients

• 1 (4 pound) whole duck, dressed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 orange, sliced in rounds
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
• 5 green onions
• 1/2 cup plum jam
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped chutney

Method

• Rinse the duck inside and out, and pat dry. Cut off tail and discard. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, white pepper and cloves. Sprinkle one teaspoon of the mixture into the cavity of the duck. Stir one tablespoon of the soy sauce into the remaining spice mixture and rub evenly over the entire outside of the bird. Cut one of the green onions in half and tuck inside the cavity. Cover and refrigerate the bird for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Place duck breast side up on a rack in a big enough wok or pot and steam for an hour adding a little more water, if necessary, as it evaporates. Lift duck with two large spoons, and drain juices and green onion.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place duck breast side up in a roasting pan and prick skin all over using a fork.
• Roast for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. While the duck is roasting, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and honey. After 30 minutes, brush the honey mixture onto the duck and return it to the oven. Turn the heat up to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Roast for 5 minutes, or until the skin is richly browned. Do not allow the skin to char.
• 5. Prepare the duck sauce by mixing the plum jam with the sugar, vinegar and chutney in a small serving bowl. Chop remaining green onions and place them into a separate bowl. Place whole duck onto a serving platter and garnish with orange slices and fresh parsley. Use plum sauce and onions for dipping.

Orange Duck

Ingredients

• 1 duck
• 2 cloves garlic, halved
• 45 ml/3 tbsp groundnut (peanut) oil
• 1 onion
• 1 orange
• 120 ml/4 fl oz/1/2 cup rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 slices ginger root. minced
• 5 ml/1 tsp salt

Method:

Rub the garlic over the duck inside and out then brush it with oil. Pierce the peeled onion with a fork, place it and the unpeeled orange inside the duck cavity and seal with a skewer.

Stand the duck on a rack over a roasting tin filled with a little hot water and roast in a preheated oven at 160C/325F/gas mark 3 for about 2 hours.

Discard the liquids and return the duck to the roasting tin. Pour over the wine or sherry and sprinkle with the ginger and salt. Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes. Discard the onion and orange and cut the duck into serving pieces. Pour the pan juices over the duck to serve.

Duck Soup

Ingredients

• 1-3/4 lbs. of Chinese barbecued duck
• 12 small Chinese dried mushrooms
• boiling water
• 4 chopped scallions
• 4-1/4 c. of chicken stock
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• 1 Tbs. of tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tsp. of oyster sauce
• 3 Tbs. of dry sherry
• 5 oz. of canned sliced bamboo shoots, drained

Cooking Method

Put mushrooms in a bowl and pour in boiling water. After 20 minutes drain the mushrooms and chop.

Remove meat and skin from duck and then chop and set aside. Add stock to the pot and let come to a boil. Next you can add in last 6 ingredients and mushrooms and cook on low for approx. 10 minutes, uncovered. Finally add in duck meat just before serving and let let duck get heated through.

Honey Roast Duck

Ingredients

• 1 duck
• salt
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 spring onions, minced
• 45 ml/3 tbsp soy sauce
• 45 ml/3 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
• 45 ml/3 tbsp honey
• 200 ml/scant 1 cup boiling water

Method:

Pat the duck dry and rub with salt inside and out. Mix the garlic, spring onions, soy sauce and rice wine or sherry then divide the mixture in half. Mix the honey into one half and rub over the duck then leave it to dry. Add the water to the remaining honey mixture.

Pour the soy sauce mixture into the cavity of the duck and stand it on a rack in a roasting tin with a little water in the bottom. Roast in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for about 2 hours until the duck is tender, basting throughout cooking with the remaining honey mixture.

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