“There’s nothing I can do to stop you,” Rory said when I laid out my plan to make Peking duck, which entailed borrowing a neighbor’s air compressor to detach the skin and fat. When I brought my duck home from the Chinese market, I realized that I couldn’t figure out where I should stick the pump. The recipe instructions in Eileen Yin-Fei Low’s Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking did not give me enough guidance. The duck was casting a gentle gaze at me in the fridge, and I had to figure out what to do with the dear bird.
I perused my Chinese cookbooks to discover a Sichuan preparation of crispy duck, which Fuchsia Dunlop says is the duck that most Chinese restaurants abroad actually serve. What I've enjoyed hasn't been roasted, but deep fried! Maybe that's why they get the duck to the table relatively quickly.My friend Carl Chu, a Chinese food expert and author of the Chinese Food Finder series , verified Fuchsia’s claim by saying that Peking duck at most Chinese restaurants are mostly made in advance and then deep-fried to refresh and serve. So I gave up on using the air compressor pump (Rory was relieved) and embarked on a weekend of Sichuan duck.
The result is this fragrant and crispy duck recipe, which is pretty easy to prepare, with exception to the last minute deep-frying. It’s not for novice cooks but you don’t have to be a master duck chef to do it either. Just be organized and have a friend assist. I served the duck on Saturday night with steamed Chinese rolls (the kind you’d serve with braised pork belly) and hoisin sauce. Rory and I made little succulent sandwiches.
Truth be told, I have never cooked a whole duck. I would have liked for the skin to be little crisper and have to tinker with the deep-frying next time. I’ll report back to you. However, this Sichuan fragrant and crispy duck recipe calls for an aromatic salty seasoning, long marinade and steaming that ensures super flavorful and tender flesh – among the best that I’ve ever had. It’s as good as duck confit. Seriously.
During steaming, a lot of the fat cooks out, which you can save for another use. The other bonus is a super concentrated stock that’s practically a hard gelatin – perfect for Shanghai soup dumplings, a noodle soup, or sauce. So I’ve not mastered Peking duck but I’ve got Sichuan duck and it’s pretty darn good. (Update on 1/18/10: See the Fragrant and Very Crispy Duck recipe for slight tweaks)
Recipe
Fragrant and Crispy Duck
(Xiang Su Quan Ya)
Purchase Sichuan peppercorns at Chinese markets and specialty grocers. Asian markets have great prices on whole duck. Select one that is fresh and not frozen or thawed.
Makes 1 duck, enough for 4 as a main course
1 duck, about 4 pounds, with head and feet on
Seasonings:
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns
1 star anise (8 robust points)
2 cloves
½ teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
3 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
5 quarter slices fresh, unpeeled ginger, lightly smashed with the broad side of a knife
2 whole scallions, cut into 3-inch lengths and lightly smashed with the broad side of a knife
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Canola oil, for deep frying
12 to 16 medium Chinese Steamed Rolls
¼ cup hoisin sauce diluted with ¼ cup water
Season and Marinate
1. Use your hand to remove the excess fat near the tail and discard. Then cut off the feet, tail, and neck (and thus the head). Then cut off the wing so that all that remains attached to the body is the duck drummette. Save these parts for soup stock.
2. Toast the salt, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and cloves until fragrant and beginning to smoke. Let cool, then transfer to a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder. Add the Chinese 5-spice and process to a powder. You should have ¼ cup.
Steam
3. Remove the duck from the refrigerator, if necessary, and return it to room temperature. Prepare a large pot of water for steaming. Find a bowl to fit into the steamer tray; make sure there’s about a 1-inch space between the edge of the bowl and the steamer tray wall.
Drain any liquid that’s accumulated in the pan. Then rub the duck inside and out with the rice wine. Put 3 slices of the ginger and about ⅔ of the scallion inside the duck. Put the duck, breast side up, in the bowl you selected for steaming. Then put the remaining ginger and scallion atop the duck. Put the bowl inside the steamer tray.
Meanwhile replenish the water in the pot, if you haven’t had to already. Carefully lift the bowl from the steamer tray and pour out the liquid into another bowl. This stuff is fabulously rich and there’s valuable duck fat. Do not discard it. Let it cool and refrigerate to separate the fat from the stock. Save it for other uses.
Put the bowl and duck back into the steamer tray and steam for another hour. There should be very little liquid that accumulates now. Once cooked and tender, let the duck cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
Air Dry and Deep-Fry
5. Careful slide the duck out of the bowl onto a roasting or cake rack placed on a baking sheet. Let the duck dry to the touch, 2 to 3 hours; put a fan on the duck to speed up the process. You can leave it out up to 8 hours.
6. To fry the duck, have a skimmer and ladle ready, and a baking sheet with a double thickness of paper towel. Rub the soy sauce all over the outside of the duck to impart a nice color. Then dust the duck with the flour, working 1 side at a time. Pat the flour and blow off excess flour. Set the duck aside.
8. Meanwhile, simmer the diluted hoisin sauce in a small saucepan for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small serving bowl and set at the table. Warm the steamed buns and have them ready for the tables.
9. When the oil is sufficiently hot, dip the skimmer into the oil to prevent sticking, then put the duck on the skimmer, breast side up. Carefully lower the duck into the oil, which will gush up with bubbles to surround the duck. Immediately ladle oil on top to evenly cook. Keep ladling on the oil and fry for about 3 minutes, until the duck is a nutty brown. Carefully turn the duck over (have a friend steady the wok, if necessary), and fry for 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove the duck from the oil and drain on paper towel.
10. To further crisp, raise the oil temperature to 400F and then refry the duck in the same manner for 15 to 20 seconds per side, until it takes on a deep mahogany brown color. Drain on paper towel (use new ones if the old ones got too greasy). Blot any excess oil away.
11. To serve, cut up the duck with the bones intact, or cut the flesh and skin off the bones. Serve with the warm buns and hoisin sauce. Invite guests to make duck sandwiches by stuffing some duck and skin into the buns and slathering on a bit of hoisin sauce.
Note
You can boil the leftover bones, carcass and skin bits for a light broth. Leftovers are terrific and you can reheat the duck in a toaster oven. Or make terrific fried rice or stir-fries with shredded duck meat and strips of skin.
Have any tips for making crispy Chinese duck? Or do you have insights on Peking duck or Sichuan fragrant crispy duck? Share your thoughts!
Jack says
Hi Andrea - I remembered Ming Tsai using the air compressor trick on an old Iron Chef episode (check it out at the 5:30 mark) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBNFtGdcCOg
Perhaps it's time to visit the neighbor again 🙂
Jack
Andrea Nguyen says
Jack, you're teasing me. OMG -- that's great! Thank you. My husband is rolling his eyes...
Celina says
If the air compressor really worries him, many of my friends actually use the old way to separate the skin and the meat - insert a straw between the skin and meat at the neck and then blow it with ...mouth.
Good luck for your next try!
Mike says
oh man. I loaded up this post, saw that deliciously brown, burnished skin and immediately got up to get a snack. jeez that looks good!
Rebecca says
Andrea, I might seriously go to hell for admitting this, but the other day I took my toddler to a duck pond and all I could think about was how much I love to eat duck!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe, my mouth is watering just looking at it!
healthy kitchen says
I'm starving right now.. Thanks for the recipe, I will try it this weekend..
youtube says
I might seriously go to hell for admitting this, but the other day I took my toddler to a duck pond
azelia says
Have a look on You Tube at Heston Blumenthal's attempt to make Peking duck where he goes to China it was then I realised there's no point in trying!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvAJeJ5B5Ms
Marilou says
I love this recipe!Sometimes when i don't feel like frying a whole duck and it's just for everyday meal, I do the same recipe with just duck legs which are easier to fry. But a whole duck is more impressive when you have guests.
Lemurs for Sale says
I just made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for this recipe. You can't beat how easy it is, plus it tastes great. Thanks again!
Shower Stall says
That looks amazing. I want some lol.
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E cig says
Where can you buy duck locally?
Beth says
you got my mouth watering with this one!
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Karen Mezzetta says
Andrea, This brings back such a fabulous memory... In 1976 I was in Taipei and Hong Kong and went to Madame Fu Pei Mei's cooking school. She did a demo and we got to eat "crispy duck home style" which of course, is this dish. It was truly one of the most wonderful things I've ever eaten... Really dislike deep frying but I really need to try making it. Thanks!
Electric Deep Fryer Guy says
I am heading to a local chinese restaurent because tried to fry a duck with my electric deep fryer, but...
Francesca says
Hi Andrea.
I was planning of trying the Momofuku steamed buns and wanted to pair it with a duck dish, as I usually have in Flushing when I come to the US to visit my parents in law. And after going through my Chinese cookbooks I thought of going for the Sichuanese duck and then by accident I read your post here.
I already started the marinate yeasterday (followed Barbara Tropp and Irene Kuo).
Irene Kuo says that 3 hours steaming are necessary to have a good result. Can I ask you why you think 2 is enough? Do you like it firmer?
Hopefully you have time to read before I start the steaming...
For the steamed buns, I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on the David Chang buns, so I've already decided to use your recipe instead. I tried recently the sheng jian baozi, delicious!
Thanks for the tip of splitting the duck in half. I'll follow that. Unfortunately, I don't have access to asian markets and I'm relying on a French canette.
I'll follow your advice on the cornstarch coating too.
Thanks
Francesca
Francesca says
I'm back to report my first attempt.
I steamed my duck for 3 hours. In the last hour of steaming it released more fat and liquid, so I thought it was necessary to obtain a crispier skin.
I let the duck dry on a rack for 3 hours, unfortunately I don't have a fan. I didn't even attempt to cut the duck in half...it was so fragile that I was afraid it would fall apart. I manage to fry on one side. While I tried to flip it over, I lost a leg...the breast side didn't crisp much.
I didn't think the duck could go through a second frying.
The taste in itself was very good but the look and the skin was a disaster...
I would like to try the two hours steaming instead but I still think the kind of duck would make a huge difference. Oh, how I miss San Francisco or New York Chinatown...
Francesca
Prefabrik says
It looks yummy.
Caitlin at Buy Backlinks says
Looks delicious! I can almost smell it from here.
Andy's air compressor says
WOW! Look at that photo. My mouth is literally watering! Man, it looks so yummy! My family is going out on a vacation this weekend and we will make sure to prepare the crispy duck recipe when we are camping. thanks for sharing the recipe. really smells awesome! haha 🙂
Andrew suthovsky says
This looks so good, looking at it at 6:15pm at work made me so hungry 😉
Brian weatherby says
Is it true that duck meat is way more fatty than any other bird meet (e.g. good old chicken)?
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marlon says
My mouth is literally watering! Man, it looks so yummy!
From London says
Your recipe for Peking duck works really well.. I used a foot-operated bicycle pump, (a recent birthday present from my son! ) to pump up the duck. I'd like to try the crispy duck but the thought of frying a whole duck in a big wok of oil is not so appealing, do you think it's ok to use duck legs instead and still obtain the same crispness as with a whole duck? Best regards
Mary Deem says
Thank you for sharing this fabelous Xiang Su Quan Ya recipe. I am originally from NYC and your recipe is the closest to the Chinatown duck that I grew up eating.
Now that I live in central Indiana, I am so grateful to find this recipe...since duck is not on our local Chinese restuarants. This has become myfamily's Thanksgiving dish I have made Xiang Su Quan Ya for friends - they are converted! I appreciate the photos and clear steps.
I look forward to trying your other duck recipes. Thnak you for your genoristy in sharing. Your duck recipe is better than most expensive Chinese cookbooks - most of whom have been 'Americnanized and sanatized'.
Andrea Nguyen says
Thank you Mary! Glad this recipe enabled you to recapture the glorious duck of your past!
I write cookbooks so I'm biased toward using them to learn. The library is a good option if you don't want to own the books.
Greatly appreciate your taking time to cook and write a kind note!