Anchor-Lacquer Duck with Honey and Five-Spice
A whole duck lacquered with a mixture of honey, soy sauce and five-spice, with amber crispy skin and fragrant flesh. The festive dish the sea offered when the fleet held a port.
A whole duck lacquered with a mixture of honey, soy sauce and five-spice, with amber crispy skin and fragrant flesh. The festive dish the sea offered when the fleet held a port.
When the fleet anchors in safe waters and the villages bring me their tribute, only then do we kill the duck. Rub it with honey and the five perfumes, hang it in the sea wind so the skin dries, then turn it over the fire until it sings under the tooth. At my table, the captain who fought well receives the best piece — that is how you lead eighty thousand men: by the law, and by the shared duck.
- •Whole duck — one, cleaned (centrepiece)
- •Wild honey — generously (lacquer and shine)
- •Soy sauce — one bowl (color and salt)
- •Five-spice (star anise, cinnamon, clove, fennel, Sichuan pepper) — a pinch of each (festive fragrance)
- •Ginger and scallion — as needed (stuffing aromatics)
- •Rice wine — a dash (deglazing and fragrance)
Anchor-Lacquer Duck with Honey and Five-Spice
A whole duck lacquered with a mixture of honey, soy sauce and five-spice, with amber crispy skin and fragrant flesh. The festive dish the sea offered when the fleet held a port.
Why this dish? At anchor, in the coves of Lantau Island or tributary ports, the chieftain and her captains feasted: fresh duck bought or levied as tribute from coastal villages, lacquered and roasted — a rare luxury for those who lived on salted rice.
When the fleet anchors in safe waters and the villages bring me their tribute, only then do we kill the duck. Rub it with honey and the five perfumes, hang it in the sea wind so the skin dries, then turn it over the fire until it sings under the tooth. At my table, the captain who fought well receives the best piece — that is how you lead eighty thousand men: by the law, and by the shared duck.
Ingredients (period version)
- Whole duck — one, cleaned (centrepiece)
- Wild honey — generously (lacquer and shine)
- Soy sauce — one bowl (color and salt)
- Five-spice (star anise, cinnamon, clove, fennel, Sichuan pepper) — a pinch of each (festive fragrance)
- Ginger and scallion — as needed (stuffing aromatics)
- Rice wine — a dash (deglazing and fragrance)
Ingredients
- Whole duck — 1 (approx. 1.8 kg) (main item)
- Honey — 3 tbsp (lacquer)
- Soy sauce (light + dark) — 4 tbsp (color/salt)
- Five-spice powder — 2 tsp (signature spice)
- Ginger — 4 cm (aromatic stuffing)
- Scallions — 4 (stuffing)
- Shaoxing rice wine — 3 tbsp (marinade)
- Boiling water — 1 pot (to blanch the skin)
Method
- Briefly blanch the duck to tighten the skin, then dry thoroughly.
- Mix honey, soy sauces, five-spice and rice wine; brush all over the skin.
- Stuff ginger and scallions inside, let the duck dry in a cool place for a few hours (the skin should become matte).
- Roast in the oven at 180°C for about 1 hour 15 minutes, basting with lacquer 2 to 3 times, until the skin is amber and crispy.
- Rest for 10 minutes, carve and serve with rice.
How it was made : Roast lacquered duck is an ancient glory of Chinese cuisine. On board there was neither oven nor time; but at anchor, in a tributary port, a hearth could be set up ashore and fresh poultry roasted, a sign that the fleet dominated the coast.
The contemporary twist : Served shredded in steamed buns (bao) with scallion and cucumber, festive duck style to share.
Ching Shih · Charactorium
