Ingredients:

  • 1 whole duck (2.5 kg)
  • 120 ml rice vinegar
  • 60 ml maltose
  • 2 tbsp five-spice powder
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp ginger, minced
  • 3 star anise pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 scallions, bruised
  • 3 slices fresh ginger
  • 14 mandarin pancakes
  • 120 ml hoisin sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 cucumber, julienned
  • 4 scallions, shredded

Instructions:

  1. Clean the duck and pat the skin extremely dry with paper towels.
  2. Prepare the tightening bath by bringing water, rice vinegar, and maltose to a rolling boil in a large stockpot.
  3. Hold the duck over a sink and carefully ladle the boiling liquid over the entire surface of the skin until it tightens and looks translucent.
  4. Combine five-spice powder, salt, and minced ginger. Rub this mixture thoroughly inside the duck cavity.
  5. Stuff the cavity with star anise, cinnamon stick, bruised scallions, and ginger slices. Secure the cavity closed with a metal or wooden skewer.
  6. Place the duck on a wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours to air-dry the skin completely.
  7. Mix the 120 ml rice vinegar and 60 ml maltose (heat the maltose first to soften it) and apply the lacquer.
  8. Roast the duck in a two-stage process: first at 190°C to render the fat, followed by a high-heat blast to achieve the final mahogany crispness.
  9. Carve the skin and meat into thin slices and serve with steamed mandarin pancakes, hoisin sauce mixed with sesame oil, julienned cucumber, and scallion brushes.