Serves 6
Ingredients
Duck salt
60g salt
36g sugar
1.5g chinese five spice powder
1.2g aromatic ginger powder
1.2g chicken powder
1.2g licorice root power
Duck bath water
125g maltose
150ml white vinegar
12ml red vinegar
75ml water
Duck sauce
7g preserved red beancurd
12g sugar
9g sesame sauce
10g oyster sauce
40ml water
60g hoi sin sauce
10g crushed yellow bean sauce
10g cooking rice wine
Peking duck wraps (20 sheets)
80g plain flour
40g strong flour
16g potato starch
40g sesame sauce
10g black sesame seeds
12g lard
120ml water
Peking duck
1 whole cherry wood smoked duck (2.6kg)
To serve
Green salad leaves (mixed sakura)
Cucumber, finely slice into strips
Leek, finely sliced into strips
Method
Wash the duck completely and drain well. Mix the duck salt according to the ingredients listed above, take 30g of the duck salt and put into the body of the whole duck, then sew up the body with a long needle. In a big sauce pan mix all the duck bath water ingredients listed above and bring to boil. Take a hook and hook up the duck from the head, in a big pot boil plenty of water. Hang the whole duck above water, use a big spoon and shower the duck with boiling water thoroughly for about 15 seconds. Wipe away the water with a kitchen towel. Move the duck to the duck bath water and do the same shower with the duck bath water for another 15 seconds, then hang in front of a big fan and dry the duck thoroughly for at least 2 hours, or until the skin is completely dry. Preheat the oven to 150c, preferably an oven big enough to hang in the whole duck, if not, put the duck on a baking tray with back side up, roast for 30 minutes. Then turn the duck upside down and roast for another 30 minutes. While the duck is roasting, using a blender, blend all ingredients of duck sauce and transfer to a sauce pan. Bring to the boil and turn the heat to medium for another 5 minutes or until it thickens. It is possible to buy peking duck weaps from most chinese supermarkets, however, if you’d prefer to make your own, mix all ingredients, except for the water, and mix well with hand or an electric mixer. In a small pan, bring the water to boil and immediately pour into the mixture and mix well until it forms a dough. Once the dough is activated, divide into 30g pieces and stretch with a rolling pin to the desired size (15cm). Toast lightly in a pan without adding any oil, until browned.
To serve
Place the duck, cucumber, leek and duck sauce inside the wrap, with some green salad leaves and crispy duck skin with some natural golden caster sugar. Enjoy the rest of the duck meat with the duck sauce.
Photography © Jean Cazals