Steamed Spiced Duck

A dear friend of mine shared this recipe with me. It's perfect for an appetizer or a "cold platter" in Chinese.

Ingredients:

1 duck (3-4 lbs)

3 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. Szechuan peppercorns

2 star anise

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 slices ginger root, sliced thinly

2 stalks spring onion, sliced thinly

2 pieces of Chinese bacon

1½ cups Chinese cooking wine

Steamer (can be purchased in Chinese grocery store)

1 cheese cloth bag(big enough for duck)

Plum sauce

Method:
1. Clean duck, remove giblets and neck. Poke holes in duck meat. Wipe dry and leave aside. In a clean pan without oil, fry salt, peppercorns, star anise, ginger root and spring onions till fragrant. Grind or pound mixture finely.
2. Rub this spiced mixture inside and outside of duck thoroughly. Place duck in a pan and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove plastic wrap from duck, rinse duck in cold water to remove seasoning spices. Drip dry, place duck in the cheescloth and secure tightly.
4. Place duck a deep dish, add half of the cooking wine to duck. Put water in the bottom layer of steamer and bring to boil, then place duck in the top tray, cover and steam for an hour.
5. Remove the duck, pour any juice to a bowl for later use. Replace the duck to the dish and add remaining wine, with bacon slices on the top of duck. Return duck to the steamer. Check to see if water is needed in the bottom tray. If water is low, add warm water. Steam duck for another hour.
6. Remove bacon and cheesecloth from duck when cool, and refrigerate duck an hour or two before serving. To serve, debone duck and slice meat thinly and serve with plum sauce. Separate excess oil from juice, heat slightly and serve over duck if desired. For added color, serve with pickled seaweeds.
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