deep-fried steamed eight precious duck

Categories

Poultry

Yield

6 Servings

1. Separately soak glutinous rice, dried oysters, dried scallops and shrimp.

2. Wipe duck inside and out with a damp cloth. Dry well with paper toweling or hang up to dry in a cool, airy place 1 to 2 hours; then rub with soy sauce.

3. Dice fresh mushrooms. Mince smoked ham, Chinese sausage, crabmeat and water chestnuts; also soaked oysters, scallops and shrimp. Mix well with soaked glutinous rice, sherry, salt, sugar and garlic powder.

4. Heat oil to boiling. Using a wire basket or long-handled Chinese strainer, gently lower in duck and deep-fry, turning and basting, until golden. Drain. Rinse in a pan of cold water and drain again.

5. Stuff duck with glutinous rice mixture. Sew up securely or skewer.

Transfer bird to a large heatproof bowl and pour stock over. Steam by the bowl-in-a-pot method until tender (about 1-½ hours). See "HOW-TO SECTION".

6. Parboil green peas. Cut lettuce in strips and arrange on a serving platter.

7. Let duck cool slightly; then chop, bones and all, in 2-inch sections; or carve Western-style. Arrange on lettuce bed and garnish with green peas.

VARIATIONS:

1. For the green peas, substitute Chinese parsley.

2. For the sugar, substitute honey.

3. For the stuffing, substitute the following mixture: ½ cup glutinous rice (soaked); 2 tablespoons barley (soaked); 6 dried apricots; 12 chestnuts, blanched and shelled; 12 ginkgo nuts, shelled; ¼ cup canned lotus seeds; 1 tablespoon dried dragon's eye (soaked); ½ cup water chestnuts, diced; 1 scallion stalk, minced; 2 tablespoons sherry; 1 teaspoon sugar; and 1 teaspoon salt.

From <The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook>, ISBN 0-517-65870-4. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, .