Ingredients
- 1 (4-to-5-pound) fresh or frozen (thawed) duck or chicken
- 4 cups water
FOR THE GLAZE
- 7 scallions, trimmed
- 2 inches of fresh ginger sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic halved
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce or kinkoman teriyaki maridade & sauce
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Shao Hsing (Chinese cooking wine) or dry sherry
- 1/4 cup of honey or molasses
- 2 teaspoons The Spice King All Purpose Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice powder
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons Chinese salt or msg
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Scotch bonnet pepper puree or siracha pepper
- 10 drops red food coloring
- 12 to 15 steamed buns (recipe included)
- Sweet black bean sauce or hoisin sauce, cucumber slices, scallions, plus drippings from pan for drizzling
Directions
PREPARE THE CHICKEN OR DUCK
- In a very cool room, fold duck or chicken wings behind themselves.
- In a cool room, hang duck from kitchen twine over a large bowl overnight, about 8 hours; or place duck/chicken upright on top of a jar wrapped in foil, with a pan underneath to catch liquids in a refrigerator.
- Fill a large pot with 3 1/2 cups water, add the rest of the glaze ingredients and whisk well to incorporate.
- Cover and bring to a boil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until well combined.
- Whisk cornstarch mixture into boiling water mixture until it is the consistency of a gravy.
- Remove sauce from heat.
- Add duck/chicken to pot and spoon over sauce, for 3 to 5 minutes, until very well coated.
- Remove from sauce and hang duck again; or place bird on top of the jar, and ladle the glaze over the meat until evenly coated.
- Allow glaze to set/dry In a cool room, or refrigerator for 5 hours or until first coat of glaze has set.
- With a ladle drizzle glaze over bird again so that you coat it evenly.
- Allow to dry again for 5 hours or until second coat has set. If desired, glaze again for the third time and repeat drying step so that the bird dries for at least 2 days in the refrigerator.
COOK THE CHICKEN OR DUCK
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Add 2 cups of water to the bottom of your roasting pan.
- Place duck on vertical roaster, or place the bird on top of the jar, upright, with a pan underneath into oven.
- Roast until duck is golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (but not touching the bone) reaches 175 degrees.
- After the first 1 1/2 hour, increase the temperature to 375 degrees.
- NOTE: Your total roasting time will be about 2 1/2 hours.
- Before carving allow bird to rest/cool for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare steamed rolls according as directed. Quarter white parts of remaining scallions and cut into 2-inch pieces, slice cucumbers.
- Thinly slice duck and serve with steamed rolls, scallions, cucumber, and sweet bean or hoisin sauce, and a drizzle of the pan drippings.
PREPARE THE STEAM BUNS
- Mix together yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and 1/4 cup warm water.
- Allow to stand for 30 minutes.
- Mix in 1/2 cup warm water, flour, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, and vegetable oil.
- Knead until dough surface is smooth and elastic.
- Roll over in a greased bowl, and let stand until triple in size, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
- Punch down dough, and spread out on a floured board. Divide dough into 2 parts, and place the piece you are not working with in a covered bowl.
- Divide each half into 12 parts.
- Shape each part into a ball with smooth surface up.
- Put each ball on a wax paper square.
- Let stand covered until double, about 30 minutes.
- Bring water to a boil in pot with ginger and star anise. reduce heat to medium; the water should still be boiling.
- Place steam-plate on a small wire rack in the middle of the pot.
- Transfer as many buns on wax paper as will comfortably fit onto steam-plate leaving 1 to 2 inches between the buns.
- At least 2 inches space should be left between steam-plate and the wok.
- Cover pot with lid.
- Steam buns over boiling water for 15 minutes.
- REMOVE LID BEFORE you turn off heat, or else water will drip back onto bun surface and produce yellowish "blisters" on bun surfaces.
- Continue steaming batches of buns until all are cooked.