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Recipe: Sour Plum Duck

Recipe Box / by

Image Credit: Winston

Sour Plum Duck in a savoury and fruity meal that is nothing less than impressive. It is a dish that can be found in any local Chinese restaurants and is famous as one of the dishes served during Chinese New Year.

The plum sauce is a smooth and sticky condiment that is usually made out of red plums and has a perfect balance of sweet and sour taste. It serves many purposes such as for dipping, stir-fry, salad dressings, and in this recipe, as a thick sauce for the duck meat.  

Preparing Sour Plum Duck needs only simple ingredients, but it takes hours to cook. This is to make sure the duck meat is tender, and the plum sauce flavour is fully absorbed into the meat. However, this dish is worth every minute it takes to create this amazing dish.

Ingredients (4 servings):

  • 1 whole duck (about 800g)
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 garlic bulbs (minced)
  • 4 shallots (minced)
  • 2-inch ginger (minced)
  • 400g plum sauce
  • 300ml water
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • Cooking oil
  • Salt
  • Coriander (to garnish)

Directions:

  1. Cover the whole duck and its cavity with dark soy sauce. Rub the salt generously in the cavity of the duck. Cover and marinate it in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
  2. Fill half of the large frying pan with cooking oil. The oil should at least enough to cover half of the duck. Heat the oil under medium heat.
  3. Once the oil is hot, place the duck into the pan carefully and fry it for 15 minutes. Then, turn the duck over and fry that side for another 15 minutes.
  4. Next, remove the duck and the cooking oil. Make sure to leave about 5 tbsp of cooking oil in the pan.
  5. Stir fry the minced garlic, shallots, and ginger in the pan for about 3 minutes or until fragrant.
  6. Then, add the plum sauce and water. Mix them well.
  7. Once the sauce boiling, place the duck back into the pan. Close the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the duck for 20 minutes and make sure to turn the duck over halfway, so both sides equally cooked.
  8. Add in the lime juice and stir them well. Adjust the seasoning according to preference.
  9. Remove the duck from the wok and let it cool. Then chop up the duck and serve with the sauce over the meat. Garnish with chopped coriander and enjoy with a bowl of hot rice.