Red Cooked Shanghai Duck Recipes

RED-COOKED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut away and discard the peripheral fat and skin from the duck. That is to say, the fat from the cavity, the excess skin around the neck and cavity opening and so on.
• Brush the duck all over with one tablespoon of the dark soy sauce. Place on a rack, breast side up, and roast for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine in a kettle the remaining dark soy sauce, the light soy sauce, cold water, shaoxing or dry Sherry, rock sugar, ginger, scallions, star anise and tangerine or orange peel. Set aside.
• Remove the duck from the roasting pan and add it, breast side down, to the sauce. Bring the sauce to the boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer 30 minutes.
• Turn the duck in the sauce. Cover and return to the boil. Let simmer 30 minutes. The duck may be eaten at this point, hot or cold. If you are using it to make the many-flavor duck salad, see the recipe.

RED-COOKED SHANGHAI DUCK

Steps:

• 1. Cut scallions in 3-inch sections slice ginger root. Place in a large heavy pan, along with duck giblets and star anise. Wipe duck inside and out with a damp cloth. Place in pan breast-side down. 2. Combine sugar, soy sauce, water and sherry and pour over duck. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, 45 minutes. 3. Turn bird over and simmer, covered, 45 minutes more. Let duck and liquid cool, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes. Skim off the fat that rises to the top. 4. Heat duck and liquid, uncovered, over a medium flame, basting frequently until duck skin is dark brown and the liquid reduced to a cupful (about 15 minutes). VARIATION: * For the white sugar, substitute brown sugar. The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.