Cantonese Roast Duck (廣州燒鴨)

Cantonese Roast Duck is a Chinese-style whole duck marinaded in a mixture of spices, air-dried over a period of time and roasted until golden in color.

What is Cantonese roast duck?

Cantonese roast duck is a Chinese-style BBQ duck, commonly found at BBQ meat shops, along side roasted BBQ pork (char siu)(叉燒) along with Chinese sausage (lap cheong)(臘腸) and roasted pork (siu yuk)(燒肉).

The duck is marinaded with various spices and left to air-dry, before it is hung on a rack to be roasted.

Once roasted, the duck is typically chopped into sections before serving.

It's a casual, home-style dish served with steamed rice and vegetables.

What's the difference between Peking duck (北京烤鴨) and Cantonese roast duck (廣州燒鴨)?

Peking duck is a dish from Beijing, China and features thinly sliced crisp duck skin with a little meat.

It's typically served with thin wheat wrappers, also known as Mandarin pancakes, along with julienned cucumber, spring/green onion and hoisin sauce.

Special ingredients you'll need

Dry spice rub (乾抹):

• sand ginger powder (沙薑粉)
• white pepper (胡椒粉)
• dry aged orange peel (chen pei) (陳皮): you can find this dried in packages in Asian supermarkets; also commonly added to red bean soup
• Sichuan peppercorns (red and green) (四川胡椒)
• cloves (丁香)
• star anise (八角)

Wet marinade (醃泡汁):

• hoisin sauce (海鮮醬)
• black bean sauce (豆豉醬)
• oyster sauce (蠔油)
• red bean curd (玫瑰腐乳): are blocks of soybean curd in a fermented red sauce, also used in char siu pork
• soy sauce (醬油)
• Chinese rose wine (玫瑰露酒) or Shaoxing wine (紹興酒)

Glaze (塗油):

• Chinese black vinegar (黑醋)
• maltose (麥芽糖): is a natural sweetener made with malt barley; if you don't have it, you can use honey instead
• red yeast rice powder (紅曲粉): optional, for coloring

Main:

• whole duck (成隻鴨): about 4 lbs

How to make Cantonese roast duck at home

To prepare the duck, start with a dry spice rub by grinding spices into a fine powder and setting aside.

Then, make the wet marinade by mashing fermented bean curd into a smooth paste.

For the glaze, combine black vinegar, maltose, and red yeast powder, warming the mixture if needed.

Clean the duck, rubbing it with coarse salt, rinsing, Then rubbing with flour and rinsing.

Pat dry with paper towel, rub with rose wine, then fill the cavity with both dry and wet marinades.

Scald the duck by pouring boiling water over it, pat dry, and brush on the glaze.

Air-dry in the fridge overnight, then roast at 450°F for 15 minutes, lowering to 350°F until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

Let duck rest, then slice and serve.

How to serve Chinese roast duck

Serve Cantonese roast duck with sweet plum sauce and any residual duck juices on freshly steamed rice and Chinese veggies, such as bok choy (青菜), gai lan (蘭花) or yu choy (菜心).

Pair it along with other roasted meats, such as BBQ pork (char siu)(叉燒), crispy pork (siu yuk)(燒肉). Or try it with steamed pork patty (蒸肉餅).

How to store

Store any leftover roast duck in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Roasted duck can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating and serving.

Leftover bones?

Peel off the duck meat, save the bones and make a broth.

In turn, serve the broth with rice noodles in roasted duck noodle soup.

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