Roast duckling

My family enjoys duck meat more than chicken meat. Unlike chicken, ducks contain no white meat. Even the breast is juicy brown meat. Unlike chicken too which, under normal circumstances is reasonably prices, duck meat is more expensive and harder to find. Ducks are not commonly sold in wet markets. Very few supermarkets have ducks in their cold meat section. So, we enjoy our roast duckling only a few times a year. Usually, that means new year’s eve and birthdays in the family.

Ducks and ducklings can be bought freshly slaughtered and dressed, or frozen. Arranque market in Manila is one of the few wet markets that sell them. Bigger supermarkets sell frozen ducks and ducklings occasionally.

Below is the cooked 2-kilo duckling, browned until the skin is crisp. To make sure that the duckling retained its shape, I stuffed it with rice. That was also meant to take care of my kids’ requirement that roast duckling must be accompanied by rice. And not just plain rice, mind you, but a chinese fried rice mixture stuffed into the bird’s cavity and allowed to absorb its wonderful juices.

The oriental way of serving roast duckling is to slice off the crisp skin, place a piece or two at the center of a steamed dumpling wrapper, add a few strips of leeks and some hoisin sauce (below, left), roll up the dumpling and eat it as an appetizer (below, right). The meat is chopped and used of making a stir-fried dish. The bones are used to flavor a soup. In Chinese restaurants, this is called peking duck served three ways.

Well, we don’t eat our duck that way. We slice off the skin and meat and eat them with the dumplings. The kids eat them with the rice stuffing as well

Ingredients :

1 duckling (I used a 2-kilo bird)
3 c. of cooked rice
2 tbsps. of chopped leeks
2 tbsps. of chopped carrots
2 tbsp. of dried wood ears mushrooms
2 tbsp. of chopped smoked ham
1 tbsp. of oyster sauce
1 tbsp. of frozen sweet peas, thawed
salt and pepper
24 pcs. of dumpling wrappers (available in the cold section of supermarkets)
sesame seed oil
a bunch of leeks
1/3 c. of hoisin sauce

Cooking procedure :

Make an incision near the tail of the duck big enough to pull out the intestines and other internal organs. When the cavity is empty, wash under running water. Pat with paper towels inside and out. Rub the skin and the cavity with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil or cling paper and let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour. Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing.

Cut the leeks into two–the white and light green part, and the dark green leaves. Cut the white and light green part, from top to bottom, to open the stalk. Wash under the tap to remove any sand. Cut the stalks into 3″ lengths then slice vertically into slivers. Wrap in cling paper and set side for the dumplings later. Cut off a few of the dark green leaves. Snip into thin, thin slices. Measure 2 tbsp. and reserve for the stuffing.

Soak the wood ears in warm water for about 10 minutes or until puffed and soft. Drain and chop coarsely.

Mix together the rice, leeks, carrots, ham, wood ears, sweet peas and oyster sauce. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stuff the mixture into the cavity of the duckling. Secure the opening with toothpicks.

Wrap the duckling tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven for two hours. The normal cooking time is 30 minutes for every pound. Adjust the time according to the weight of the bird.

While the duckling cooks, prepare the dumpling wrappers. Take two pieces of wrappers. Drizzle a few drops of sesame seed oil on one side of the first wrapper. Spread the oil over the entire surface using your finger. Place the other wrapper over the oiled surface and press them together lightly. Repeat with the rest of the dumpling wrappers. Heat a heavy skillet. Take a pair of dumpling wrappers and place in the hot skillet. Heat until the heat starts to make the dumpling wrappers rise at the center. Flip it over and cook in the same way. Repeat for every pair of dumpling wrappers. Stack the cooked dumpling wrappers and place them in a heat proof bowl. Set the bowl in a steamer with briskly boiling water and steam for about 15 minutes. Keep them warm until the duckling is ready. It is best to steam the dumplings to coincide with the time when the duckling would finish cooking.

After two hours, remove the foil wrapping of the duckling. Set the heat to broil. Broil the duckling, uncovered, for about 12-15 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Transfer to a serving platter.

To serve with the dumpling wrappers : Take a pair of the dumpling wrappers and separate them. Place a few pieces of sliced duck skin and meat at the middle of the oiled surface. Add a few strips of leeks (the white and light green parts reserved earlier) and some hoisin sauce. Or, spread some hoisin sauce on the wrapper first, then arrange the duck skin and meat, and strips of leeks on top. Roll the dumpling and enjoy your duckling.