Braised duck with plum sauce

Chinese: 酸梅鴨 (sheen moi up)

Other than Peking Duck this is probably my second favourite duck recipe. Quite an easy and non messy recipe. It is really yummy, highly recommended. This recipe works better with duck on the bone instead of boned duck breast.

Ingredients:

1 duck crown with bone or 1 whole duck or 4 pieces of duck legs
1 heap tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of dark soy
1 heap tsp of five spice powder

2 - 3 tbsp of cooking oil
2 - 3 cloves of garlic (sliced)
1 chunk of ginger about walnut size (sliced thin)
3 star anise
1 chilli, sliced
1 small piece (about 2" long) cassia bark or cinnamon stick
2 pieces of chinese dried mandarin peel 陳皮(about 2 x 50p size), rinsed
3 heap tbsp of plum sauce (from a jar either Lee Kum Kee or Amoy)
1 to 1-1/2 tbsp of light soy sauce (to your taste)
2 - 3 tbsp of chinese cooking wine
3/4 - 1 cup of water

Method:

1. Rub salt on duck and leave for 1 - 2 hours. Then rinse off salt.
2. Rub soy sauce and five spice all over duck, leave for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Roast the duck on a rack at 210deg C for about 20 - 30 minutes* (depending if duck pieces or whole duck is being used). Turn once during roasting. Take the duck out when golden brown, not ready to eat yet it's not cooked.
4. In a wok or saute pan, heat the cooking oil and all the spices. Stir fry about 1 - 2 minutes till fragrant.
5. Add cooking wine, light soy sauce, plum sauce and water. Heat the liquid till boiling.
6. Add duck to sauce, cover and simmer gently for about 35 -40 minutes for duck pieces, and about 1 hr to 1 hr15 min for duck crown or whole duck. Turn the duck once or twice during braising. Take the duck out to cool when done.
   
7. Reduce the sauce to about 1 cup or thick enough to your liking. I don't find cornflour is necessary to thicken but if you want to you can use a little cornflour.
   
8. Remove the bits of spices if you want. I never bother.
   
9. Cut the duck into pieces. Pour the sauce over.

*Traditional method is to deep fry the duck till the skin is golden brown. My oven method is less messy and no deep frying for anyone who hates it.
** Line the roasting tin with foil and add in about 1 cup of water. Any fat from the duck will not spit all over the oven making a mess. Also the foil lining saves scrubbing the pan. Easy peasy