Ingredients
1 young duck (about 1.5 kg / 3.3 lbs), 5 sour plums.
Seasonings
25 g cooking oil, 2.5 g each minced garlic, ginger, and scallion, 5 g each MSG and sesame oil, 25 g each sugar and Chu Hou paste, 1 g white pepper, 10 g each maltose, Zhejiang vinegar, and salt, 8 g Shaoxing wine.
Instructions
1. Mash 5 sour plums and set aside. Take 1 plump, tender duck, about 1500 g (3.3 lbs), and use a small knife to cut a small hole under the wing to remove the innards and windpipe. Rinse clean, drain well, then blanch the duck in boiling water just until the skin tightens—do not overcook or it won't take color well—lift out, and hang on a hook.
2. Heat the wok, add 25 g (about 2 tablespoons) of cooking oil, sauté the minced garlic, ginger, and scallions until fragrant, then splash in the cooking wine. Add the sour plums, MSG, salt, sugar, hoisin sauce (or Chu Hou paste), and white pepper, stir-fry until well combined, remove from heat, and stuff the mixture into the duck's cavity.
3. Dilute the maltose with Zhejiang vinegar and cooking wine, then brush it evenly over the duck skin with your hands. Hang the duck in a ventilated area to air-dry, then place it in the oven and roast until cooked through. Remove from the oven, pour out the reserved juices, and chop off the duck head and tail. Cut the duck body into pieces and arrange them on a plate, reassembling the head and tail to form the original duck shape. Mix sesame oil into the reserved juices, drizzle over the duck, and serve. This dish has a rich reddish-brown color and is aromatic, crispy, tender, and silky smooth.