Ingredients
• Half a fresh duck
• Half a sea cucumber ( abt 300 gms)
Cut into pcs & boiled in ginger/spring onion/ Hua Tiao Chew for 5 mins
• Half a small Yam (200 gms) - cut into 2.5x1.5 cm and deep fry till light brown
• 200 gms Chinese spinach, cut into 5 cm length & blanch in pinch of veg stock granules, salt and a tsp oil
• Chopped garlic 1 tbsp
• Chopped ginger 1 tsp
Seasonings for duck• Juice of grated old ginger - 2 tsps
• Wincarnis ginger wine 2 tsps (optional)
• Hua Tiao chew 2 tsps
• Dark soya sauce 2 tsps
• Oyster sauce 1 tsp
• Pepper
Method
1. Blanch half the duck in hot water
2. Debone duck and remove excess fats
3. Cut breast meat into 6 pcs. Separate thigh and drumstick and debone.
(Did not use the wing but cooked it with the bones & 2 sour plum with tomatoes to make a soup 👍)
4. Add above seasonings to the duck and marinade for at least one hour. (I marinated it overnite)
5. Take out duck and using a paper towel, pat dry.
6. Deep fry duck till light brown to seal in the juices. Place in a bowl and wash off excess oil with tsp water. Pat dry again.
6. In a hot wok, fry garlic and ginger with 1 tbsp oil till light brown .
7. Add in duck and sea cucumber. Fry for 5 mins. Add new seasonings of 1 tbsp each of dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, half tsp salt and pepper to taste. Stir fry for another 5 mins.
Add again 1 tbsp each of Wincarnis ginger wine and Hua Tiao chew. Fry for 5 mins and add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and transfer to a claypot (Tanyu pot is best for stewing). Stew in the clay pot over a small fire and, after one hour, take out the sea cucumber first as we do not want it to be over mushy. It shud be QQ and yet soft.
8. Continue to stew over a low fire until duck is tender - about another 30 mins.
9. Add back the sea cucumber and the deep fried yam and continue to stew for another 10 mins over a big fire to absorb the gravy.
10. Finally, mix a tsp of corn flour with a tbsp of water and pour over the stew. Stir till it is boiled.
11. Place the blanched spinach in a deep serving plate and scoop the duck, sea cucumber and yam on top, together with all the gravy. Eat with rice and blachan.