Sliced Duck with Pickled Ginger Recipe

Sliced Duck with Pickled Ginger Recipe

1 boneless duck breast (available at specialty markets)

1 large egg white

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

Vegetable oil, for passing through

¼ cup sliced water chestnuts (⅛-inch-thick slices)

Sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon chicken stock or canned chicken broth

1 teaspoon cornstarch

8 scallions, white and green parts, trimmed and sliced

  diagonally into ½-inch pieces

3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced ⅛ inch thick

2 teaspoons hot bean paste

⅓ cup sliced bottled pickled ginger (cut 1½ inches long,

  1 inch wide, and ⅛ inch thick)

3 Chinese dried black mushrooms, soaked in hot tap water until softened,

  drained, stems trimmed and caps cut into ½-inch-wide slices

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Method:

Cut off and discard the skin from the duck breast.  Slice the breast across the grain into ¼-inch-thick pieces, then cut them into pieces 2 inches long and 1 inch wide.  Mix the duck, egg white, cornstarch, salt and 1 tablespoon water in a medium bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Heat a large wok over high heat.  Add enough oil to come about 1½ inches up the sides of the wok, and heat it to 180°C.  Add the duck and stir gently, keeping the pieces separate and cooking until they turn pale brown, about 30 seconds.  Add the water chestnuts and cook for 10 seconds.  Using a wide wire-mesh strainer, transfer the duck and water chestnuts to a colander to drain.  Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok.  To begin the sauce, mix the soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, vinegar and stock in a small bowl and set it aside.  Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tablespoon cold water in another small bowl and set it aside.  Return the wok with the oil to medium-high heat.  Add the scallions, garlic and hot bean paste and stir-fry until the garlic is fragrant, about 15 seconds.  Add the pickled ginger and mushrooms and stir-fry to blend the flavors, about 10 seconds.  Stir in the soy sauce mixture, then the cornstarch mixture.  Return the duck and water chestnuts to the wok, and stir-fry until the duck is just cooked through, about 20 seconds.  Add the sesame oil and serve immediately.