{"id":64,"date":"2015-04-01T07:13:47","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T23:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/burningkitchen.wordpress.com\/?p=64"},"modified":"2018-10-22T17:12:54","modified_gmt":"2018-10-22T09:12:54","slug":"eight-treasure-celestial-duck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theburningkitchen.com\/eight-treasure-celestial-duck\/","title":{"rendered":"Celestial Eight Treasure Duck \u516b\u5b9d\u9e2d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Eight<\/p>\n

STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE<\/span><\/h1>\n

My Celestial Eight-Treasure Duck is a perennial family favourite that I will cook every Chinese New Year for reunion dinners, or for special birthday parties.<\/p>\n

My children and niece simply love this dish! By the way, the term ‘Celestial Duck’ is coined by my family because it tastes so ‘heavenly’, but the actual term people use is Eight Treasure Duck or \u00a0\u516b\u5b9d\u9e2d.<\/p>\n

You seldom see Eight Treasure Duck being served nowadays so it is one vanishing heritage recipes that I really want to preserve, especially since it’s very much part of my family’s annual CNY tradition.<\/p>\n

Scroll down to learn how to make this special dish. All the hard work and labour of love is worth it in the end!<\/p>\n

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TRICK OF THE TRADE<\/span><\/h1>\n

It’s called Eight Treasure Duck because the duck is stuffed with eight types of ‘treasures’: lean pork, barley, gingko nut, dried chestnut, lotus seeds, dried mandarin peel, dried mushrooms and ginger.<\/p>\n

The duck is then sewn up to seal in the ‘treasures’, then slowly steamed in an extra large wok for 5-6 hours over a traditional charcoal flame (a conventional stove works fine too, but I just love the smokiness of the flavour when it is cooked over a\u00a0charcoal flame).<\/p>\n

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WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH<\/span><\/h1>\n
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  • The robust and charcoal flavour of the duck.\u00a0<\/strong>Stuffing the duck with many ‘treasures’ boosts the duck’s overall flavour, making for a very complex and sophisticated dish.<\/li>\n
  • It’s a dish that my family loves!<\/strong> From young to old, everyone says this dish is an annual must have for Chinese New Year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    HOW TO MAKE EIGHT TREASURE DUCK?<\/span><\/h1>\n
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    1. Boil a small pot of water. Once boiling, throw in the lotus seeds and boil for 10-15 minutes. Once cooled, remove the skin (if any) then split into half and remove the centre core. Wash and set aside for later use.<\/li>\n
    2. Remove shells from gingko nut and peel the skin by soaking in hot water. Split the gingko nut into half and remove the centre core. Then wash, drain and set aside.<\/li>\n
    3. Soak dried mushrooms until soft. Cut into thin strips. Keep the mushroom water for use as stock later.<\/li>\n
    4. Remove the innards from the duck and pluck out any stray feathers using a kitchen tweezer. Cut off the part of the ‘bishop’s nose’ around the butt hole and discard it. Chop off the duck’s webbed feet, then cut off the sharp nail tips from webs. Leave the neck and head intact.<\/li>\n
    5. Exfoliate the duck skin using coarse salt to thoroughly clean it, then rinse with water and pat very dry with a paper kitchen towel.<\/li>\n
    6. Rub the whole duck with the 1 TBsp of light soya sauce and let it stand for 10 mins until the skin is light brown coloured.<\/li>\n
    7. Wash the dried mandarin peel, rinse the barley and set aside.<\/li>\n
    8. Wash and cut the meat into strips.<\/li>\n
    9. Heat up the wok without using oil. Place duck onto the wok to lightly brown it on all sides. Once the duck is browned, remove the duck. Pour the duck oil out into a bowl.<\/li>\n
    10. Add 1 tbsp of the duck oil back into the wok. When the oil is oil, add in the lean pork and stir fry over medium heat for a few minutes.<\/li>\n
    11. Next, add another 1 tbsp of the duck oil to the wok. When the oil is heated up, add in the rest of the prepared stuffing ingredients and fry for another few minutes.<\/li>\n
    12. Fill the belly of the duck with the prepared stuffing.\u00a0Then, sew up the duck with thread and needle.
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