Watch Eva Pau's Asian Christmas on the 22 & 23 December on RTÉ One.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
Time: To prep the duck, 30 minutes plus 6 hours marinating
Cook Time: 80 mins
- 2-2.6kg Whole Duck
Seasoning Mix:
- 1tbsp Salt
- 1/4tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp LKK Chu hou paste
- 1 tbsp LKK Premium Oyster sauce
- ½ tsp Ginger powder
- 2 spring onions, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
- 1 ½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 2 banana shallots, peeled and sliced in half
- 4 Star anise
Basting Liquid:
- 70ml vinegar
- 3 tbsp maltose or golden syrup
Plum sauce:
- 6 preserved plums in brine - about 120g- stoned and roughly chopped
- 30g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thick slices
- 2 star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 bay leaves
- 120g rock sugar
- 200ml water
- 2tsp Lee Kum Kee rice vinegar
- 2 tsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsps water
Method
- Set the duck on a wire rack over a roasting tray. Pour a full kettle of just-boiled water over both sides of the duck. This helps to render the fat and also tighten the skin, which makes it easier to crisp it up later.
- Set the duck onto a tray. In a small bowl, combine the salt, sugar, white pepper, ginger powder, chu hou paste and oyster sauce to make the seasoning mix. Use a spatula to smear all the seasoning mix into the cavity of the duck. Now tilt the Duck up and add the spring onion, ginger, shallot and star anise into the cavity. Use a skewer to sew up the duck on both sides.
- To make the basting liquid, melt the maltose in a pot and then add vinegar. Use a brush to baste the liquid all over the duck 2-3 times. Set onto a wire rack over a tray and cover with tin foil. Put this in the fridge for 6 hours or, for best results, overnight. You want to allow the duck to have time to be air-dried in order to get a nice crispy skin.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 190 degrees fan. Cook the duck breast side up for about 60 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Meanwhile, make your plum sauce. Into a non-stick medium pot, add a tbsp of oil, once the oil is hot, add the plums and ginger and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the star anise, cinnamon stick and bay leaves to the pan.
- Fry for 40 seconds until fragrant, then add the rock sugar, water and white rice vinegar. Bring everything to a simmer and cook for 5 - 7 minutes to melt the sugar. Add the cornflour mix and stir until it becomes a nice thick sauce. Remove the aromatics before serving.
- The duck is ready to serve with plum sauce.
Watch Eva Pau's Asian Christmas on the 22 & 23 December on RTÉ One. Catch up on RTÉ Player.
