ken hoM

CRISPY AROMATICDUCK

From Foolproof Chinese Cookery

This is probably one of the best selling dishes in Chinese restaurants, in the West. Although it is available as a ready-cooked meal, nothing beats the home made version. Don’t be intimidated by the long preparation process. Most of the steps are quite straightforward and can be done up to a day ahead and the results are well worth the labour. Steaming the duck renders out most of the fat leaving the meat moist and succulent. The fnal deep-frying crisps the skin beautifully.

INGREDIENTS

4-6 portions Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 2 hours’ cooking Cooking time: 2 ½ hours

1 x 2.75 kg (6lb) duck fresh or frozen 6 slices of fresh root ginger 6 spring onions cut in to 7.5 (3 in) length cornfour, plain four or potato four for dusting 1.2 litres (2 pints) groundnut oil

FOR THE SPICE RUB

● 2 tablespoons fve-spice powder ● 765 g (2 ½ oz) Sichuan peppercorns ● 25 g (1 oz) whole black peppercorns ● 3 tablespoons cumin seeds ● 200 g (7 oz) rock salt

TO SERVE:

● Chinese pancakes ● 6 spring onions, fnely shredded ● Hoisin sauce

METHOD

2. If the duck is frozen, thaw it thoroughly> rinse well and blot it completely dry with kitchen paper. Mix all the ingredients for the spice rub together in a small bowl, then rub the duck inside and out with this mixture, applying it evenly. Wrap well in cling flm and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. After this time, brush any excess spices from the duck. Stuf the ginger and spring onions into the cavity and put the duck on a heatproof plate. Set up a steamer or put a rack into a wok. Fill it with 5 cm (2 in) of 3. water and bring to the boil. Lower the duck and plate into the steamer and cover tightly. Steam gently for 2 hours, pouring of excess fat from time to time. Add more water as necessary> Remove the duck from the steamer and pour of all the liquid. Discard the ginger and spring onions. Leave the duck in a cool place for 2 hours or until it has dried and cooled. At this point the duck can be refrigerated. Just before you are ready to serve it, cut the duck into quarters and dust with cornfour, or plain four or potato four, shaking of the

excess. Heat the oil in a wok or deep fat fryer.

When it is almost smoking, deep-fry the duck quarters in two batches. Fry the breasts for about 8-10 minutes and the thighs and legs for about 12-15 minutes until each quarter is crisp and heated right through. 4. Drain the duck on kitchen paper and leave until cool enough to handle. Then remove the meat from the bones and shred it. You can do this easily with a fork. The Chinese eat it with bones and all. Serve with the

Chinese pancakes, spring onions and hoisin sauce.

New Tafelstern ‘Delight’ porcelain fromartis

New from Artis, and a bright star in its newly launched 2016 catalogue is Delight. Delight is the very latest design from Tafelstern, which is distributed in the UK exclusively by Artis.

DELIGHT BYTAFELSTERN

A key feature of the Delight collection is its supreme lightness. This is down to a fascinating new material from Tafelstern called Noble China. The new collection owes its subtlety to this thin, innovative hard porcelain, manufactured entirely without lead, cadmium or animal components. It means that Delight is surprisingly resistant to chipping and glaze damage which in turn, leads to an extended service life. The bone white fnish enhances the impression of discreet elegance. Its broad range of diferently shaped pieces means that it will appeal to a wide cross-section of target groups in the hotel and restaurant sector. The combination of elegance and durability is achieved through a high firing temperature of 1400ºC. This also gives Delight its extreme glaze hardness. Since it carries a 5 year glaze professional warranty, it is the perfect choice for daily use in hotels and restaurants. Selected price points include the Special Large bowl at £15.85, the 20cm Deep Plate at £5.88 and the Two-handled Soup Cup, which has a list price of £7.17.

Delight is just one of the many new products featured in the 2016 Artis catalogue. For your own personal copy hard copy call 020 8391 5544. Alternatively, the catalogue is available to download online at www.artis-uk.com/downloads.