Braised Teochew Soy Sauce Duck (Loh Ark)

Chinese New Year is now 3 weeks away and I already look forward to having a great feast with my family here in Canada. As a young child, Chinese New Year was my favourite holiday as it was the season when I would receive lots of red packets (hong bao in Chinese Mandarin) and had the opportunity to eat so many delicacies, snacks and desserts for 15 days!

As promised in my last post, today I am featuring a great dish that is commonly served on Chinese New Year's Eve called Braised Teochew Soy Sauce Duck or simply named Loh Ark (Braised Duck in Fukien- Chinese dialect). Teochew, also known as Chiu Chow in Cantonese, is an ethnic originated from Southern China. Today, most Teochew people live in South East Asia, particularly Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Its cuisine is known for good soup stock, braising, steaming and poaching. Compared to other ethnic Chinese cooking, Teochew cooking is considered to be healthier. Today's dish: Braised Soy Sauce duck is a well-known Teochew specialty. If you happen to dine in a Teochew restaurants in Canada,you will have no difficulties finding this special duck on the menu.

The recipe that I am featuring today is somehow different to the braised ducks that you commonly find in Teochew restaurants in Canada. My mother-in-law's recipe incorporates lemongrass and galangal (lesser ginger). To my belief, the Teochew who migrated to South East Asia might have incorporated local ingredients into the original recipe which making this dish special! 


Ingredients from left to right: Chinese rock sugar, lemongrass, black peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, star anises, cloves and galangal









Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 

INGREDIENTS:

Duck simmering in the flavour-packed sauce

• 1 young duck (about 3.5 to 4 lbs)
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, bruised
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 inches cinnamon stick
• 4 star anises
• 4 cloves 
• 1 inch of galangal 
• about 2 tbsp rock sugar
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce 

METHOD:

1. Run 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tsp five spice powder evenly all over the duck, including inside the cavity
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, mix together all ingredients with remaining salt and bring to a boil
3. Reduce toe heat to medium and gently lower the duck into the pot/Dutch oven. Cover the lid, turn up the heat to boil, then lower to medium
4. For the first 25 minutes, baste the duck every 5 minutes or so to colour it evenly
5. Cover and simmer for another 60 to 80 minutes or until the meat is tender
6. To check for doneness, lift up the duck and poke it in the thigh with a chopstick or knife. The juice should run clear 
7. Turn of the heat and if desired, leave the duck in the pot with its sauce overnight for in-depth flavour 
8. Skim the fat off the sauce and drizzle the sauce over the duck before serving