Crispy skin roast duck is super tasty… and seriously impressive when you’re entertaining at home! With my step-by-step guide, it’s a lot easier than you might think. Serve with fluffy bao buns or pancakes, plus fresh cucumber and spring onions for some crunch and freshness.
Slow-roasted 5-spice Duck
1 x 1.8kg (4 lb ) whole duck, patted dry inside and out
2 slices ginger
3 star anise
2 spring onions (scallions)
4 whole garlic cloves, lightly crushed
1 tbsp 5-spice powder (try my homemade recipe here )
1 tbsp sea salt
To serve:
steamed bao buns or Chinese pancakes
sliced cucumber
hoisin sauce
finely sliced spring onion (scallions)
- Preheat the oven to 150 °C /300 °F .
- Stuff the ginger, star anise, spring onions and garlic into the cavity of the duck. Use your knife to score the whole breast area of the duck in a diamond pattern.
- Mix the 5-spice and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the salt mixture all over the duck.
- Create a ‘trivet’ by scrunching up 3 lengths of aluminum foil. Place these into the base of a roasting tin. Place the duck on top. Roast for 3 ½ hours or until the skin dark and crispy and the duck meat is fork tender.
- Serve whole at the table so that everyone can tear off pieces of duck to eat with their bao or pancakes along with the cucumber, hoisin and spring onion.
