Ingredients
5 lb long island duck, cleaned
1 tbsp chinese five-spice powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water chestnut powder
1 boiling water
1 sweet and sour plum sauce
1 oil for deep frying
1 crushed toasted almonds
Directions
Place duck in large kettle or Dutch oven with enough boiling
water to cover. Add spices and salt and simmer covered until tender,
about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Remove duck from liquid and let cool.
Remove meat from bones and discard skin. Pour chestnut powder
into small baking pan (an 8-inch aluminum pan works well; powder
should be 1/2 to 1/4 inch deep). Press meat into powder. Cover and
steam 30 minutes, or until powder has gelatinized into thick, heavy
crust. Remove from steamer and let cool.
Cover and chill until ready to complete. About 30 minutes
before serving time, prepare sweet and sour plum sauce; set aside and
keep warm. Warm a serving platter in low oven. Preheat oil in deep
fryer to 375 F. Slice duck into bite-size chunks and fry quickly in
batches until crisp and browned. Remove with slotted spoon and drain
on paper towels. Repeat until cooking is completed. Serve immediately
with sweet and sour plum sauce topped with nuts. From Bon Appetit's
"Oriental Favorites."
Servings: 6 servings
Pressed Duck With Sweet & Sour Plum Sauce Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Duck; Dutch Oven; Fruit; Meat; Poultry
The History of Recipes
Academics have proved the existance of recipes far back into ancient history, certainly as far as the early Egyptians, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that maybe, these, old cook books were just very basic hieroglyphic recipes for meal preparation.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to experts in ancient history are some tablets in Sumerian which show the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel blissful and exhilarated. Closer to modern times, we find two books which appeared in the 1300s : a book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, these books are nothing to do with the curry that we all know today, but rather accounts of the types of food eaten by the rich and wealthy people of those days. During the next few hundred years, the powerful and wealthy strove to lay on the most exotic meals, and because of this chefs and their collection of recipes could command a high salary. However, it wasn`t until the 1800s that cooking and cookery books really came of age. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, spent years to assembling, verifying, and publishing recipes that were common in the better off homes of the day. By the time we get to the twentieth century, cook books were starting to become popular mostly as a result of higher levels of literacy, increased leisure time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Pressed Duck With Sweet & Sour Plum Sauce recipe.
