-
Clean the duck, removing
and discarding any excess fat in the cavity.
-
Tie a piece of string
around its neck. Pat dry.
-
Bring 25 cups of water to
the boil and turn off the heat.
-
Put the duck into the
water and turn it backwards and forwards for about 1 minute.
Remove.
-
Bring the water to the
boil again and repeat the previous step.
-
Do this twice more (total
four times).
-
Hang the duck in a cool,
draughty place for about 5 hours.
-
Mix the coating
ingredients with 10 tablespoons hot water and brush the duck all
over with the mixture.
-
Hang to dry for a further
4 hours and apply a second layer of coating.
-
Pre-heat the oven to 450oF
/ 230oC.
-
Put a roasting pan in the
oven with a wire rack in it, making sure that there is a space of
about 5 cm between the rack and the pan base.
-
Place the duck on the
rack, breast side up, and roast for 8 minutes.
-
Turn the duck over using a
towel, not a fork, and roast for a further 8 minutes.
-
Reduce the temperature to
350oF / 180oC and turn the duck breast side
up again.
-
Roast for 20 minutes.
Lower the temperature to 250oF / 120oC and
roast for 10 minutes.
-
Increase the heat again to
450oF / 230oC and roast the duck for about
10 minutes.
-
At this point you have to
watch carefully to make sure the skin of the duck does not burn.
-
Turn off the heat once the
skin has turned a rich deep red.
-
While the duck is roasting, prepare the
Chinese pancakes.
-
Cut the spring onions into
5 cm lengths, shred the tip of each piece and put it in iced water
for 10 minutes. Cut the cucumber into similar lengths.
-
Decorate each piece with a
red chili ring.
-
Blend together the sauce
ingredients over a low heat.
-
Carve off the skin on the
back of the duck.
-
Hold the knife
horizontally and carve the skin and meat from the breast and legs,
cutting at an angle of 15o.
-
Arrange the skin and meat
on a large plate and serve it with pancakes and cucumber, spring
onions and the sauce.