Northern chefs have their famous Peking duck, but in Sichuan, crispy skin duck is equally popular. This dish can also be made with boneless duck breasts. Just adjust the cooking times. Serve the duck with mandarin pancakes or steamed flower rolls.
Ingredients: (Serves 6)
- 2.25 kg/5 lb duck
For the marinade:
- 8 scallions (spring onions), ends trimmed, smashed with the flat side of a cleaver
- 8 slices ginger, smashed with the flat side of a cleaver
- 3 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 star anise, smashed with the flat side of a cleaver
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 125 g/4½ oz/1 cup cornstarch (cornflour)
- Oil for deep-frying
- Hoisin sauce, optional, to serve
- Mandarin pancakes, optional, to serve
- Steamed breads, optional, to serve
Method:
Rinse the duck, drain, and remove any fat from the cavity opening and around the neck. Cut off and discard the parson’s nose.
To make the marinade, combine the scallions, ginger, rice wine, salt, Sichuan peppercorns and star anise. Rub the marinade all over the inside and outside of the duck. Place the duck, breast side down, in a bowl with the remaining marinade and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Put the marinated duck, breast side up, on a heatproof plate in a steamer, or cut into halves or quarters and put in several steamers.
Steam over simmering water in a covered wok for 1½ hours, replenishing with boiling water during cooking. Remove the duck, discard the marinade and let cool.
Rub the soy sauce over the duck and then dredge in the cornstarch, pressing lightly to make it adhere to the skin. Let the duck dry in the fridge for several hours until very dry.
Fill a wok one-quarter full of oil. Heat the oil to 190°C/375°F, or until a piece of bread fries golden brown in 10 seconds when dropped in the oil. Lower the duck into the oil and fry, ladling the oil over the top, until the skin is crisp and golden.
Remove duck from the wok and drain. Using a cleaver, cut it through the bones into pieces.
Serve plain or with hoisin sauce and pancakes or steamed breads.
Note: For serving, poultry is traditionally chopped into bite-sized pieces, rather than jointed, so that the pieces can be picked up with chopsticks.
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