Drunken Fragrant Duck

When you taste the intoxicating aroma and tender duck meat of Drunken Fragrant Duck, are you curious about how it is cooked? From the selection of ducks to the matching of wine, every detail is related to the success or failure of this dish. Let's take an in-depth look at its production process.

Required raw materials and substitutes

Main ingredients

Duck: The main ingredient provides rich meat and texture.

Accessories

Garlic: Adds fragrance and enhances the overall flavor.

Dried chili peppers: Add a spicy taste and aroma.

Red peppers: Provide color and additional spiciness.

Scallions: Add a fresh fragrance and harmonize the taste.

Ginger: Removes fishy smell and adds fragrance.

Seasonings

Light soy sauce: Provides a salty and umami taste and adds deliciousness.

Oyster sauce: Adds deliciousness and a rich taste.

Soybean paste: Provides a unique fermented soybean fragrance.

Beer: Removes fishy smell and adds fragrance, making the meat more tender.

Salt: Seasoning and enhancing freshness.

Sugar: Balances the taste and adds layers.

Cooking oil: Used for cooking and thickening.

Substitutes

Duck: Can be replaced by chicken, and the taste and flavor will change.

Dried chili peppers: Chili powder or chili sauce can be substituted.

Red peppers: Green peppers or yellow peppers can be substituted.

Light soy sauce: Dark soy sauce or regular soy sauce can be substituted.

Oyster sauce: Fish sauce or regular soy sauce can be substituted.

Beer: Cooking wine or white liquor can be substituted, and the flavor will be different.

How can duck meat be more flavorful?

When marinating duck meat, extend the marinating time to 40 to 50 minutes. Add 2 to 3 grams of pepper and 10 to 15 milliliters of cooking wine. Pepper enhances the flavor, and cooking wine removes fishy smell and helps the seasonings be absorbed.

After frying duck pieces and stir-frying, add oyster sauce, soybean paste and light soy sauce. Stir-fry for 40 to 45 seconds to make the duck pieces fully coated with the sauce, so that the taste goes well into the meat.

When braising, reduce the amount of beer from 500 milliliters to 400 to 450 milliliters, and reduce the amount of water from 200 milliliters to 150 to 180 milliliters. In this way, the soup is thick and the seasonings are strong. Based on the braising time of 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size and quantity of duck pieces, braise for another 3 to 5 minutes to let the duck meat fully absorb the flavor.

Why use medium-low heat when frying duck pieces?

The purpose of using medium-low heat when frying duck pieces is to ensure that the duck meat is fully cooked without the surface being burnt.

Duck meat contains a large amount of fat and the texture is relatively firm. If fried quickly with high heat, the surface is prone to turn yellow and harden too quickly while the inside is not completely cooked. Using medium-low heat allows the heat to penetrate evenly into the duck meat, making the texture more tender and juicy.

In actual operation, an oil temperature of about 60% heat is between 160-170 degrees. At this temperature, frying with medium-low heat for 1 minute and 30 seconds can form a golden protective layer on the surface of the duck pieces while locking in the internal moisture, preparing for subsequent braising. This is also a commonly used heat control technique in many Chinese restaurants when making Drunken Fragrant Duck.

Can a pressure cooker be used to braise duck meat?

A pressure cooker can be used to braise duck meat, but the time and ingredients need to be adjusted. After putting the duck meat and seasonings into the pressure cooker, heat it over medium heat until the pressure starts, and then turn to low heat and cook for about 8 minutes to achieve the same degree of tenderness.

When cooking with a pressure cooker at home, the amount of liquid should be appropriately reduced. 400 milliliters of beer is enough, and the amount of water can be reduced to 150 milliliters. Because the pressure cooker has good sealing and there is very little evaporation loss.

Sometimes the duck meat cooked in a pressure cooker will be extremely soft and glutinous and even a bit scattered. At this time, the final stir-frying step should be a bit faster to prevent the duck meat from falling apart.

When reducing the sauce and seasoning at the end, it needs to be stir-fried again with a wok so that the sauce can better coat the surface of the duck meat. Using a pressure cooker to cook in the kitchen can save a lot of time. Especially when in a hurry, shortening the braising time of more than 20 minutes to 8 minutes is indeed much more convenient.