Showstopper
suppers
You could cook a Christmas ham or Thanksgiving turkey with
your eyes closed. Up your game this year by tackling a traditional
Chinese New Year meal, with these recipes from
Sharon Maloney
.
C
hinese New Year is a time
for family feasting and
banqueting. For many of us,
it will be the final festive feast
in a winter season of gluttony, before we
renew our gym memberships and get
our bodies bikini-fit for summer!
There is a rich and incredible
history of food symbolism at this time
of year, as dishes take on exotic,
but meaningful, names that include
“wealth”, “gold”, “good health” and
“long life”. Traditional foods eaten at
this time usually include poultry, whole
fish, dumplings (savoury and sweet, in
soup or not), fresh fruit and all manner of
candied fruits and sweets. I have chosen
roast duck for “fertility” with wild rice
stuffing (rice being one of the Twelve
Sovereign Treasures, or ancient Chinese
symbols of sovereignty) and traditional
braised mushrooms and broccoli for
“longevity”. Kumquat honey is easily
found in supermarkets year-round but is
particularly symbolic at this time of year
for “good fortune” or “gold”.
Roasted Duck in Five Spice
and Kumquat Honey with
Wild Rice Stuffing
This dish is a showstopper and
guaranteed to draw a few gasps at
the table. You’ll need a full 24 hours
of preparation to dry and marinate
the duck beforehand to ensure a
nice crispy, delicious skin. The Chinese
air-dried sausages (
lap cheung
) are
ubiquitous at this time of the year, and
can be found in dry goods shops and
good supermarkets. They add a rich
sweetness to the stuffing. There are two
kinds: the dark pink ones or the black
ones (which are liver sausages). Either
one works well, though I prefer the pink
ones for taste.
Ingredients
• 1 large duck
• 1 star anise
For the marinade:
• 3 Tbsp light soya sauce
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp kumquat honey
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar (or 2 Tbsp mirin
and 1 Tbsp apple cider)
• 2 Tbsp toasted pure sesame oil
• 1 heaped tsp five-spice powder
For the wild rice stuffing
:
• 2 cups mixed wild rice
• Enough chicken or vegetable stock
(optional) or water for cooking the rice
(approx 4 cups)
• 2 dried
lap cheung
(Chinese dried
sausage) of your choice
• 10 dried Chinese shiitake mushrooms,
soaked overnight
• Oil for frying
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 slices ginger, finely chopped
• 100g pine nuts
• ½ an onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, very finely diced
Method
24 hours before mealtime:
• Wash and clean the duck. If it has the
internal organs inside, remove and
clean these and set aside to use them
in the wild rice stuffing. Pluck out any
feather quills you can see.
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