Soy Roasted Duck Recipe

Jiang Banya (酱板鸭) is a complicated duck recipe that includes four different cooking methods, salting, roasting, braising, and dehydration. I have no idea how to name it in English because there is nothing similar in western Cuisine. This duck is a specialty from Hunan Province, where my grandparents live. Whenever we visit them, Jiang Banya is always the star on the dinner table. After I moved to the USA, I have attempted this many times to recreate the flavor, and I am very proud of the result.

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INGREDIENTS
A whole duck (2kg)
100 grams of coarse sea salt (5% of the duck weight) (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/coarse-sea-salt)
2 slices of sand ginger (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/sand-ginger)
2 star anise (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/star-anise)
1 small cinnamon stick (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/cinamon-sticks-8oz)
2 bay leaves (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/bay-leaves)
2 cloves (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/dried-cloves)
2 white cardamom (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/white-cardamom)
1 gardenia fruit pod (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/gardenia-pods)
1 tsp of white peppercorns (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/white-peppercorns)
1 tsp of fennel seeds (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/fennel-seed)
3 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorn or to taste (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/sichuan-peppercorns)
1/2 cup red dried chilies or to taste (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/red-dried-chilies)
2 tbsp of oil
2 inches of ginger, sliced thinly
5 cloves of garlic
2 scallions
1 tbsp of Sichuan Dou Ban Jiang (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/Sichuan-dou-ban-jiang)
6 cups of purified water
5 tbsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/light-soy-sauce)
3 tbsp of dark soy sauce for the color (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/dark-soy-sauce)
1/4 cup of Chinese cooking wine (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/Shao-xing-ooking-wine)
5 tbsp of rock sugar (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/rock-sugar)

INSTRUCTIONS

Use a pair of scissors to cut open the duck cavity. Trim off any unwanted parts such as the connective tissues, the huge piece of the neck skin, the butt, and some duck fat.

Rinse the duck thoroughly under running water. Use paper towels to absorb the moisture.

Put the duck on a big try, skin side up. Flatten the duck by pressing it down firmly. Coat the duck with a large amount of coarse sea salt.

Put a flat board on the duck, then weigh it down with a huge pot that is filled with water. Set it in the fridge for 12 hours.

The next day, rinse the duck thoroughly with some boiling hot water. This will shrink up the skin and wash off all the salt so the duck will not be too salty. Wipe off the moisture with a paper towel.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the duck on a rack on top of a baking pan.

Heat a heavy-duty cast-iron skillet until smoking hot. Flip the skillet over and apply a thin layer of oil at the bottom.

Put the duck into the oven and place the hot, heavy skillet right on top of the duck. Bake for 30 minutes to render the fat.

While waiting, we can prepare the braising brine. Add oil to a large pot and saute all the dried spices along with the ginger slices, garlic cloves, and scallions for a couple of minutes or until fragrant. Add 5-6 cups of bottled water or distilled water, then bring to a boil.

Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and rock sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Take the duck out of the oven and remove the cast iron skillet. Transfer this duck into the braising brine (you can cut the duck smaller if your pot doesn’t fit). Braise on low heat for 1 hour.

Transfer the duck onto a baking rack – skin side up. Stick it into the oven again. Set the temperature at the lowest. Let it dehydrate for 6-8 hours. The time varies depending on your oven’s minimum temperature. Enjoy!

You can store the brine for future use. Check this video to learn more about Lushui (卤水) – https://youtu.be/umdrNXXz5qo