Teochew Law Ark (Braised Duck Teochew Style)

Teochew Braised Duck.png

Today's RECIPE is Teochew Law Ark/Braised Duck Teochew Style. It's a time-consuming dish to cook but well worth the effort especially as a dish for the festivities.

Recipe by Mama Ding

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Total Time | 2 hr 15 mins

Prep Time | 45 mins

Cook Time | 1 hr 30 mins

Servings : 6 - 8

Ingredients

  • 1 medium-sized duck (about 2kg/4.4 lb)

  • 1 tbsp salt, to rub all over duck

    For the Marinade~

  • 2 tsp five spice powder

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

    For the Braising Liquid ~

  • 1 tbsp cooking oil

  • 2 tbsps five spice powder

  • 2 tbsps brown sugar

  • 1 tsp white peppercorns, crushed

  • 2 cinnamon sticks

  • 4 star anise

  • 4 bulbs garlic, peeled

  • 5 shallots, peeled

  • 150 g (5.3 oz) galangal, peeled and sliced thickly

  • 120 g (4.2 oz) old ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

  • 100 g (3.5 oz) gula melaka/palm sugar/rock sugar

  • 1/4 cup Hua Tiao cooking wine

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 2 tbsp honey

  • 4 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 3 tbsp oyster sauce

  • 1.2 liter (5 cup) water

    Add the following if desired (optional) ~

  • 5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

  • 3 pieces of firm tofu/tau kwa

Method

01 Wash and clean the duck and its liver. Cut off the neck but keep it for cooking. Discard the head and the feet. (We kept the head and feet for presentation in our photo.)
Rub the entire duck, including the cavity, with salt and rinse thoroughly. You may repeat this step if the duck still smells gamey. Drain the duck and pat it dry with paper towels.

02 To marinade ~

Rub the duck, including the cavity, with five spice powder. Add 1 tsp salt into the cavity and rub it in. Rub the dark soya sauce over the skin of the whole duck.

Be sure to marinate the neck as well. Set duck aside.

03 To Braise the duck ~
Add the cooking oil to a large, hot wok/pan on high heat.
Add star anise, cinnamon sticks followed by the garlic, shallots and then the galangal and ginger. The galangal slices should be visibly thicker than the thin slices of ginger so that you will be able to differentiate between the two when the dish is done, as the galangal slices has to be discarded.
Fry these ingredients for a short while till fragrant, then add the gula melaka/palm sugar/rock sugar and continue to fry for about two minutes.

04 Add water and stir. Add in the rest of the ingredients for the braising liquid and stir well. Let it boil for a few more minutes.
Carefully lower the duck, neck and liver into the liquid.

Reduce heat to medium after it comes to a boil.
Flip the duck every 10 minutes, so that each side has a chance to be submerged in the braising liquid. This is to ensure that the duck will be evenly coloured at the end of the cooking process. The braising liquid should be bubbling briskly over a medium fire.
[To flip the duck, you can insert a pair of chopsticks into the cavity and stand it up. Then carefully lay it back down in the liquid, other side up, with the help of a spatula. Alternatively, use a pair of tongs. Continue this process for the next hour at 10-minute intervals until the duck is tender yet firm when prodded with a fork.]

05 DO THE FOLLOWING AT THE INTERVALS MENTIONED:
After about 20 minutes of braising, prick the duck several times with a fork to release the oil under the skin. After about 30 minutes, remove the liver. It should be firm yet soft enough to be pricked with a fork.

06 After about 45 minutes of braising, remove the star anise and cinnamon sticks. You may leave them in longer if you prefer a stronger taste.
After about 50 minutes, add the hard boiled eggs, if using. They should sit in the liquid to absorb the colour.

07 While the duck is cooking, wash the tau kwa. Drain and pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
When the duck is cooked and sufficiently tender, and the eggs are evenly coloured, remove them from the braising liquid. Drain the liquid from the tau kwa one more time before adding it into the wok. Let it simmer in the braising liquid for 10 minutes.
Remove the tau kwa and turn off the heat. Remove the thick slices of galangal/lengkuas, as well as the garlic + shallots and discard. Using a spoon, remove the layer of oil that has formed on top of the braising liquid.

05 Chop up the duck and slice the eggs and tau kwa. Serve with hot gravy and slices of ginger.
Serves about six to eight people, if eaten with other dishes.

Notes

More eggs and tau kwa can be added. You may also add more or less honey, salt, soya sauce and pepper, to taste.

Omit the cooking wine if you don’t consume alcohol.

Main Dish, DuckMama DingComment