QUACK QUACK QUACK...

Since I discovered the joy of cooking, every birthday celebration may it be my family members or friends, I tend to try and cook something new or different. So for my bros birthday this year, I decided to cook the famous very crispy Sichuan duck with Chinese pancakes. I’ve never done it before. Did some research, look for a really good recipe on the internet and finally I found one. Ok here’s the deal. To cook a crispy Sichuan duck will indeed take you 10 hrs of cooking (more or less)! Urgh! Things I do for my loved ones! One thing I learn is that to make this dish again is better to do it a day in advance. For instance the marinating and the Chinese pancakes should’ve prepared it the night before, less hassle. And if you do it on the day you going to serve the dish, you have to start early in the morning.

Now, the process of making this dish was gruesome and at the end I am happy to say it turned out fantastic. Totally took me by surprise, even my family was surprised. The hard work truly truly paid off! The recipe that I got from http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/ is THE recipe to go for.

Fragrant and Very Crispy Duck
Xiang Su Quan Ya

Makes 1 duck, enough for 4 as a main course

1 duck, about 4 pounds, with head and feet on

Seasonings:
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns (I use normal peppercorns)
1 star anise (8 robust points)
2 cloves
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder

3 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry (or you could use white grape juice / apple juice)
5 quarter slices fresh, unpeeled ginger, lightly smashed with the broad side of a knife
2 whole scallions, cut into 3-inch lengths and lightly smashed with the broad side of a knife

Starch coating

Cornstarch
4 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoons light (regular) soy sauce

Canola oil, for deep frying
12 to 16 chinese pancakes
1/4 cup hoisin sauce diluted with 1/4 cup water or duck steaming juices rendered during steaming

Season and Marinate
1. Use your hand to remove the excess fat near the tail and discard. Then cut off the feet, tail, and neck (and thus the head). Then cut off the wing so that all that remains attached to the body is the duck drummette. Save these parts for soup stock.
 
2. Toast the salt, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and cloves until fragrant and beginning to smoke. Let cool, then transfer to a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder. Add the Chinese 5-spice and process to a powder. You should have 1/4 cup.

Rub about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the seasonings on the inside of the duck. Then rub the remaining amount of the seasonings on the outside. Massage it into the duck, even in the armpits! Put in a pan, cover loosely with parchment paper and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight, turning midway.

Steam and Dry
3. Remove the duck from the refrigerator, if necessary, and return it to room temperature. Prepare a large pot of water for steaming. Find a bowl to fit into the steamer tray; make sure there’s about a 1-inch space between the edge of the bowl and the steamer tray wall.

Drain any liquid that’s accumulated in the pan. Then rub the duck inside and out with the rice wine. Put 3 slices of the ginger and about 2/3 of the scallion inside the duck. Put the duck, breast side up, in the bowl you selected for steaming. Then put the remaining ginger and scallion atop the duck. Put the bowl inside the steamer tray.

4. Steam the duck for about 2 hours, until tender. You should be able to wiggle the leg easily. At the 1 hour mark, lower the heat and detach the steamer tray, setting it aside to cool for a few minutes.

Meanwhile replenish the water in the pot, if you haven’t had to already. Carefully lift the bowl from the steamer tray and pour out the liquid into another bowl. This stuff is fabulously rich and there’s valuable duck fat. Do not discard it. Let it cool and refrigerate to separate the fat from the stock. Save it for other uses.

Put the bowl and duck back into the steamer tray and steam for another hour. There should be very little liquid that accumulates now. Once cooked and tender, let the duck cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

Air Dry and Deep-Fry 
5. Careful slide the duck out of the bowl onto a roasting or cake rack placed on a baking sheet. Let the duck dry to the touch, 2 to 3 hours; put a fan on the duck to speed up the process. You can leave it out up to 8 hours.

6. Fifteen minutes before you’re ready to fry the duck, cut it in half. Put the duck, breast side up, and use heavy knife or cleaver to bisect the duck. Remove the backbone, saving it for stock or discarding it. 

7. Mix together the ingredients to form a smooth mixture. Pour or spoon over each half of the duck – making sure to coat both the outside and inside. Use your fingers to rub it in. Replace the duck on the rack to dry out, about 10 minutes.

8. To fry the duck, have a skimmer and ladle ready, and a baking sheet with a double thickness of paper towel. Pour 3 inches of oil into a wok or large deep skillet. Heat the oil to between 325 and 350F on an oil thermometer.

8. Meanwhile, simmer the diluted hoisin sauce in a small saucepan for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small serving bowl and set at the table. Warm the Chinese pancakes and have them ready for the tables.

9. When the oil is sufficiently hot, dip the skimmer into the oil to prevent sticking, then put one of the duck halves on the skimmer, skin side up. Carefully lower the duck into the oil, which will gush up with bubbles to surround the duck. Immediately ladle oil on top to evenly cook. Keep ladling on the oil and fry for about 2 minutes, then carefully turn the duck over (have a friend steady the wok, if necessary). Fry for 3 to 5 more minutes, until crispy and brown. Remove the duck from the oil and drain on paper towel. Repeat with the other duck half.

10. When both halves have been fried, the skin should still be crisp. If you want to refry to reheat or make the skin even crisper, raise the oil temperature to 375F. Refry the duck in the same manner for 20 to 30 seconds total. Drain on paper towel (use new ones if the old ones got too greasy). Blot any excess oil away. 

11. To serve, cut up the duck with the bones intact, or cut the flesh and skin off the bones. Serve with the warm buns and hoisin sauce. Invite guests to make duck sandwiches by stuffing some duck and skin into the buns and slathering on a bit of hoisin sauce. 

Note
You can boil the leftover bones, carcass and skin bits for a light broth. Leftovers are terrific and you can reheat the duck in a toaster oven. Or make terrific fried rice or stir-fries with shredded duck meat and strips of skin.

Oh yeah, my sis in law ordered a birthday cake for my bro. Cool huh? Check out the bakers Facebook for other cakes http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Petaling-Jaya-Malaysia/Asmaradana-Cakes/72002837157?ref=ts&ajaxpipe=1&__a=22

After we celebrated my bros birthday, the men quickly dash off in front of the TV to watch the World Cup. So me being such a good daughter and sister, I made some popcorn. Very easy to make! I made the salty ones and the caramel ones.

     

POPCORN

1 cup kernel seeds

1/2cup of vegetable oil

½ cup / 4oz / 1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup corn syrup

½ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

Heat the vegetable oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 pieces of popping corn. If corn slowly turns around in a circle then oil is hot enough. Add the remaining corns. Cover. When the corn starts popping, shake the saucepan gently. Once the corn stops popping, remove from heat. Transfer to a large bowl.

Preheat oven 150C. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 4 min.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.

Place in 2 long shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 min for 1 hr. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.