I love to eat duck at restaurants, but my mom never cooked it at home and therefore it was a foreign and intimidating ingredient. This recipe from The Fiance’s mom changed all of that. With a few easy steps and some TLC, the duck comes out tender, with authentic Chinese flavours (sweet and sour) and renders a delicious stock that can be re-used.

Chinese Plum Duck

2014-11-30 21:34:16

Yields 1

Easy oven roasted Chinese Plum Duck

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

3 hr

Total Time

3 hr 15 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

3 hr

Total Time

3 hr 15 min

Ingredients

1. 1 whole duck ~4 lbs
2. 6 cloves of garlic
3. 2 tbsp of rock sugar (cane sugar)
4. 5-6 pickled plums (per preference)
5. 2 tbsp of dark soy sauce
6. 2 tbsp of cooking wine
7. 2 cups of water

Instructions

1. Rinse off the duck and pat dry with a clean tea towel or paper towel
2. In a roasting pan, bake the duck at 350 degrees for one hour
3. Remove duck from oven and drain liquid
4. Mince the garlic, smash pickled plums, break apart rock sugar and mix all together (Tip: Use some of the pickled plum juice to help dissolve the rock sugar)
5. Place half the garlic mixture in the pan, stuff the other half in the body cavity of the duck
6. Place duck back into the pan breast side up and brush with dark soy sauce
7. Add water and cooking wine to the roasting pan
8. Bake for 2 hours at 350 degrees, flipping every 30 minutes and brushing again with dark soy

Notes

1. Tip: If the duck is frozen, be sure to thaw in the fridge overnight
2. Optional: Add corn starch to thicken the sauce and serve alongside or save and use as sauce for noodles later

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Prep ingredients, bake duck at 350 degrees for one hour

Mince garlic, smash plums and break apart rock sugar

Put half the garlic mixture into the pan and stuff the other half into the duck cavity

Brush the duck with dark soy sauce

Bake for 2 hours, flipping every 30 minutes and brushing with dark soy sauce

During my travels in Beijing I ate Peking duck pretty much every other day. We visited fancy restaurants specializing in the dish as well as run of the mill ones. When the BF’s mom made reservations to Dayali, a restaurant chain from Beijing known for their Peking duck, I had high hopes.

Atmosphere: The plaza where the restaurant is housed has limited parking. It was a little challenging to find a spot but I find that’s a common issue in Markham. The white walls, chandeliers and vases does provide an elegant backdrop. The decor felt like the owners were aiming for a clean look but the room is overcrowded with tables. With so many chairs, it was hard to get out of your seat. People were also crowded at the front of the restaurant waiting so it was a bit of a fire hazard trying to leave.

Service: Service at the restaurant was fine, nothing to write home about either which way. We did have the VIP card, which for $20, saves you about $2 – $3/dish. This meal alone we saved about $10 so just one or two visits makes the card worthwhile. Each dish arrived quickly, tea was refilled and we got the bill when we were ready. No real fuss. The servers did start clearing the table the second we stood up and reached for our jackets. I understand there’s a line but waiting a minute until we had walked away wouldn’t have hurt.

Food: For starters, we ordered the minced pork and scallion stuffed Chinese pancake and deep fried pumpkin battered with salted egg yolk. The pancake had a flavourful filling and was crispy when it was first served but did get soggy after a while from all the oil. The pumpkin was cut like fries and so sweet. It tasted more like sweet potato and the batter was dusted with sugar as well. It was still a good dish and a great serving size. I preferred the same dish from Chili Secrets, which was richer and thinner slices of pumpkin.

Of course we had to order a Peking duck. On this visit we went with the “normal” roast duck, which was served pre-cut with wrappers, julienned scallions, cucumbers and sauce. Next time, I’d like to try their “gold medal” roast duck, which comes with more  toppings, and is said to be a better duck. I wish they were clearer on what makes a “better” duck, guess we’ll just have to try it ourselves. The duck was good with a crispy skin and the wrappers were nice and thin. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had but a solid plate.

Additionally for proteins we had the Szechuan style lamb and leek sizzling plate, and “Shui Zhu Yu” (water boiled fish). I loved the lamb. The meat was tender, gamey and was perfect with the leek flavour. Again the dish was heavy on the oil but that’s what made the lamb so flavourful. The lamb was my favourite dish of the night and with the VIP discount is priced at <$10.  At Dayali, the style of “Shui Zhu Yu” is with a clear oil bath, which looked far spicier than it actually was. Each piece of fish (I think they were basa fillets) was tender and I liked the plentiful bean sprouts at the bottom of the pot. Personally, I would’ve enjoyed the dish spicier but this version is more tastebud friendly.