What started out as my pursuit of homemade Peking duck has turned into a pursuit of Sichuan fragrant and crispy duck. As I mentioned last week in my initial foray into cooking a whole duck, the deep-fried Sichuan preparation is often served instead of roasted Peking duck at Chinese restaurants abroad. In many of the Chinese cookbooks that I have, authors such as Irene Kuo, Barbara Tropp, and Ken Hom say that the Sichuan approach is their favorite for home cooking. When you think about it, most Chinese home kitchens do not have stoves. Deep-frying is a fast and fuel efficient substitute for roasting.
That said, the first Sichuan fragrant and crispy duck was phenomenally good, but I wanted to make the skin a tad crisper. Last week, I went back to the Chinese market and carted home another duck, in addition to a wealth of locally grown, pesticide-free Asian vegetables. Rory and I went at it again this weekend and the following things came to mind about creating a Chinese crispy duck.
It’s not hard or time consuming. The cooking process spans days but most of the time, it’s passive work, like the duck is marinating or steaming. The fast-paced action comes with deep frying the duck at the end.
Crispy Duck Pointers
Type of duck – Head to a Chinese or Vietnamese market where the ducks are super fresh, still have their heads and feet intact, and MOST importantly, are the Pekin variety. Fancy Muscovy ducks have bigger breasts but they also have more fat. The smaller Pekin (and I don’t know where the “g” went to in that name) is appropriate.
Cut the duck in half - It is hard and daunting to turn a whole duck around in a wok of fat. I thought about how I could make things easier for myself – and you! – so I used a cleaver to cut the duck in half after it steamed and cooled. The frying was less dramatic and it was much easier to chop the duck up duck for serving.
Coat the duck with starch - You’ll notice below that instead of the soy sauce and flour, I switched to a cornstarch or water chestnut starch coating. Starch creates a more delicate and crisper skin than regular all-purpose flour. The flour coated fragrant and crisp duck had a more robust flavor.
Fry at a moderately low temperature - This longer cooking helped the skin get nice and crispy, and stay that way for a while.
Blowing up the duck didn’t do much - We did manage to inflate the duck to the size of a baby porpoise but the amount of fat rendered during steaming was the same. It was the starch and longer frying that crisped the skin up. I’ll save the inflating for Peking duck.
Fragrant and Very Crispy Duck
Ingredients
- 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
Starch coating: choose 1 to use cornstarch or water chestnut starch
Cornstarch coating option
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoons light regular soy sauce
Water chestnut starch coating option
- ¼ tablespoon water chestnut starch/flour pounded to a powder in a mortar and pestle
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
To fry and serve the duck
- Canola oil for deep frying
- 12 to 16 Chinese Steamed Buns
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce diluted with ¼ cup water or duck steaming juices rendered during steaming
Instructions
Season and Marinate
- 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.
- 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.
- Rub about 1 ½ tablespoons of the seasonings on the inside of the duck. Then rub the remaining amount of the seasonings on the outside. Massage it into the duck, even in the armpits! Put in a pan, cover loosely with parchment paper and refrigerate for 2 days, turning the duck midway. If it’s winter and cool, let the duck marinate at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight, turning midway.
Steam and Dry
- 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.
- Steam the duck for about 2 hours, until tender. You should be able to wiggle the leg easily. At the 1 hour mark, lower the heat and detach the steamer tray, setting it aside to cool for a few minutes.
- 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
- 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.
- Fifteen minutes before you’re ready to fry the duck, cut it in half. Put the duck, breast side up, and use heavy knife or cleaver to bisect the duck. Remove the backbone, saving it for stock or discarding it.
- Mix together the ingredients for the slurry of your choice to form a smooth mixture. Pour or spoon over each half of the duck – making sure to coat both the outside and inside. Use your fingers to rub it in. Replace the duck on the rack to dry out, about 10 minutes.
- To fry the duck, have a skimmer and ladle ready, and a baking sheet with a double thickness of paper towel. Pour 3 inches of oil into a wok or large deep skillet. Heat the oil to between 325 and 350F on an oil thermometer.
- 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.
- When the oil is sufficiently hot, dip the skimmer into the oil to prevent sticking, then put one of the duck halves on the skimmer, skin 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 2 minutes, then carefully turn the duck over (have a friend steady the wok, if necessary). Fry for 3 to 5 more minutes, until crispy and brown. Remove the duck from the oil and drain on paper towel. Repeat with the other duck half.
- When both halves have been fried, the skin should still be crisp. If you want to refry to reheat or make the skin even crisper, raise the oil temperature to 375F. Refry the duck in the same manner for 20 to 30 seconds total. Drain on paper towel (use new ones if the old ones got too greasy). Blot any excess oil away.
- 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.
Jai says
That looks delicious! Does the longer frying cause a "greasy" problem? Come to think of it, duck is very rich tasting anyway. Duck crackling YUM!!!
Andrea Nguyen says
Jai -- The longer frying wasn't greasy. I suspect it's because the duck is totally coated in the starch so it has a protective layer. Most of the greasiness would come from when you lift the duck out of the oil and put it onto the paper towel. It's fast and furious and hot so sometimes the oil can go flying during the frying. Oh, I think I just made a joke. 😉
Hazel says
It'll be great to have a video made for this. I would definitely like to watch a walk through. Very Crispy Duck is my favorite dish and I enjoy having it though it's high in cholesterol lol. Besides Hoisin sauce, I'm sure there's a "sour plum" alternative to add for this dish as well, it's pretty popular among restaurants that I've been to.
Pink Panda says
I'm am a newb cook, but I hope that one day I'll actually be able to make duck at home instead of spend $$$$$ for it at a restaurant. Thanks for making it look doable!
Andrea Nguyen says
Hazel... you push me to video. We'll see what ducky things lie ahead!
Pink Panda, the major work is in the frying. It is doable.
Formax FD 6100 says
I had Peking Duck during a business trip to Hong Kong over 20 years ago. I never quite developed a liking to it. But - whenever I hear or read anything about Peking Duck - it does bring back good memories of Hong Kong.
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IT Jobs Training says
Have eaten this so many times already but I haven't had enough of it still.
SEO Los Angeles says
Tasted fried duck once and I really love it. Been wanting it once again.
Bridal Registry says
Love eating this one because its crispy and delicious.
Andrea Nguyen says
Formax FD, IT Jobs Training, SEO Los Angeles and Bridal Registry -- Thanks for the comments. How about sharing a little more depth with the rest of us? That would be greatly appreciated.
Shower Stall says
That looks amazing. I dont know where to get duck around here.
Soup says
That looks delicious!!!! good post...
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e cig says
I love your recipes thank you for sharing with us.
Taylor Holliday says
Brilliant idea to cut the duck in half! I've never taken the plunge on Sichuan crispy duck because of the fear of frying the whole thing. Will be trying your recipe.
Chilipadi says
Would using chicken instead of duck with the same ingredients yield the same result? Thank you.
Andrea Nguyen says
Chilipadi -- I've wondered that myself and think that it would work just fine with chicken!
Taylor -- cutting the duck in half helps home cooks tremendously.
Twinkle says
It's one of my favorite dishes to order when I eat out at Chinese restaurants and I would love to make it at home but frankly, I am super nervous about the deep-frying part.
Good to know that the blowing up of the duck didn't result in much difference. I'll have to pass that nugget of information along to my dad; he's convinced that is the only way to ensure crispy duck.
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Wow! If it is looking So good then just Imagine what will be its taste.Once I ate duck and I feel that ducks are the better than Chickens.Sometimes I cook for my family and Its my personal experience that deep fry makes more tastier.
Sarah says
Ducks are so delicious BUT they make better pets!!
Juicy Couture Bags says
where did u find the bird, does it not on the tree?
Randall says
I did love the post and recipe, and hoped there would be valuable content in the comments.
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Kelley Hoffman says
My husband and I live in the South, where we're accustomed to deep frying turkeys. Do you think we could simply deep fry the duck in our electric turkey fryer (whole) instead of halving it and putting it in the wok? Do you think there would be a difference in the fry time? Thanks so much for making this recipe seem doable with great results for the home cook! 🙂
Andrea Nguyen says
Definitely! My instinct tells me that the cooking time will be faster. Watch the bird!
ניתוחים פלסטיים בצפון says
Delicious recipe shared by you. I love duck recipe. I have many duck recipes but after read your recipe I appreciate you. I will try out for this on my next weekend.
marlon says
I did love the post and recipe, and hoped there would be valuable content in the comments.
John Tickle says
Being 600 k from Chinatown (Dixon St Sydney) Im suffering from duck deprivation.
Yea! my local favorite restaurant had this on the menu...Delicious!
I went to work to reproduce the dish at home with fair results.
I think the recipe will work well with both quail and goose. Has to be worth a try.
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fox Watson says
Initially, I wanted to 'duck' from this recipe! Marianting,steaming and then frying seemed like a lot of extra work after spending a whole day 'duck-hunting'and migrating through the local supermarkets for the right bird. After that, everything was 'ducky' after following your recipe. As stated, it's not that labor intensive,just sequential in it's detail. .
After that, the only 'ducking' I've done is being asked to cook it again and again.
Thanks for a good recipe! I'm no longer 'duck-blind'.
Fox Watson
Tan Tuan Kwang says
Can I used chicken for this method?
Andrea Nguyen says
I don't know. I think you can but chicken doesn't have as much fat as the duck. It may be drier in the end. Try it out, and see. Please share your experience so we may all learn.