Name: Shanxi-style fragrant crisp duck
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 165 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1 duck (about 2.2kg); 100 ml light soy sauce; 80 ml (1/3 cup) Shaoxing wine; 2 tbsp sweet flour sauce (see note); 2 green onions, finely chopped, plus extra thinly sliced to serve; 1 tbsp finely shredded ginger; 5 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns; 1 tsp each ground star anise and cinnamon; ½ tsp ground cloves; For deep-frying: vegetable oil; To serve: mantou (see note); Sichuan pepper-salt dip; 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns; 55 gm (1/3 cup) sea salt

Shanxi-style fragrant crisp duck

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Shanxi-style fragrant crisp duck by Tony Tan.

Serves 8

Prep

15M

Cook

2H 30M

Total

2H 45M

I found this recipe in , published by China’s Foreign Language Press. The duck is marinated, then steamed until tender before being deep-fried to a rich mahogany colour. It looks involved but is actually a cinch when you break the recipe into two days – one for marinating, the next for finishing the dish. Serve with Sichuan pepper-salt dip and you’ll be making this again and again. — Tony Tan

Shanxi ya

Ingredients

1 duck (about 2.2kg)

100 ml light soy sauce

80 ml (1/3 cup) Shaoxing wine

2 tbsp sweet flour sauce (see note)

2 green onions, finely chopped, plus extra thinly sliced to serve

1 tbsp finely shredded ginger

5 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns

1 tsp each ground star anise and cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

For deep-frying: vegetable oil

To serve: mantou (see note)

Sichuan pepper-salt dip

1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns

55 gm (1/3 cup) sea salt

Method

Main

1.Rinse duck in cold water and pat dry with absorbent paper. Remove fat glands from the body cavity and discard. Combine soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sweet flour sauce, green onion, ginger and spices in a large bowl, season to taste with salt and mix well. Add duck and rub inside out with Shaoxing mixture, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2.Place duck on a heatproof dish in a large bamboo steamer over a wok of boiling water. Steam, covered, over high heat until tender (2 hours), replenishing boiling water if necessary. Remove duck, cool and drain well. Pat dry with absorbent paper, then halve lengthways.

3.Meanwhile, for Sichuan pepper-salt dip, dry-roast peppercorns in a frying pan over medium heat until fragrant and beginning to pop (30 seconds), then transfer to a bowl. Add salt to pan and stir continuously until starting to turn golden (1-1½ minutes). Add to peppercorns. Cool, finely grind in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Set aside.

4.Heat 15cm oil, or enough to cover duck, in a wok to 180C. Carefully lower a duck half into oil and deep-fry, turning halfway through cooking, until golden and cooked through (10-12 minutes). Repeat with remaining duck. Cut into bite-sized pieces and serve with pepper-salt dip and mantou.

Sweet flour sauce (tian mian jiang), also known as sweet bean paste/sauce, is available from Asian grocers. If unavailable substitute with hoisin sauce. Mantou are bread buns that are steamed or baked and are available from Asian grocers (alternatively, you can make them at home with our
).
Drink Suggestion: Light pinot noir. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes

Tony Tan

Styling by Lisa Featherby

Styling by Lou Fay