Lemon duck

Lemon duck is a famous dish from the Nanning prefecture in Guangxi, which is one of the most ethnically diverse regions in China. It’s a sweet, sour, and slightly spicy dish enjoyed at Lunar New Year, and this recipe by Yummy Noodle & BBQ’s Coco He originally comes from her grandmother.

Credit: Jennifer Wong

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 duck, cut into pieces around 4-5 cm

Marinade

• 30 g ginger, unpeeled, cut into 0.5 cm slices
• 2 tsp of salt
• 4 tsp chicken powder
• 2 tbsp of oyster sauce
• 3 tsp of rice wine

Pickled and preserved items

• 50 g pickled peppers
• 2 preserved lemons, roughly chopped
• 50 g pickled shallots
• 50 g pickled ginger

Stir-fry

• 2 tbsp of corn oil
• 60 g ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp of black vinegar
• 250 ml liquid from preserved ginger and preserved lemon
• 10 g rock sugar
• 6 tsp white sugar
• 3 purple shiso leaves, sliced
• 1 long hot red chilli, sliced for garnish

Marinating time: 30 minutes

Instructions

1. Place duck pieces into a large tray or container and add all the marinade ingredients. Massage duck with marinade ingredients to ensure the duck is coated nicely, then cover and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Roughly chop all the pickled and preserved ingredients and set aside.
3. Add oil to a hot wok, followed by the ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add the marinated duck, soy sauce and oyster sauce, and stir fry until the duck is a nice golden colour.
4. Add pickled and preserved ingredients, liquid from preserved ginger and preserved lemon, as well as the rock sugar and white sugar.
5. Stir occasionally and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add purple shiso leaves and stir fry for a minute to wilt.
7. Remove duck from wok and place on serving dish. Garnish with sliced hot red chilli.

Note

•Pickled peppers, shallots, and ginger can be bought in jars in Asian grocery stores. To make preserved lemons, clean them and then make sure they are dry. Put them into a clean glass container, add salt to cover and marinate for up to 12 months.

Celebrate Lunar New Year with SBS

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.