Soy roasted duck

Rinse the defrosted duck thoroughly, cut open the cavity with scissors slightly off centre between the breasts, and trim the connective tissues, neck skin, butt and excess fat.

Pat dry with paper towels, lay skin side up and press down firmly to flatten, breaking the thigh, ribs and clavicles.

Coat the duck with coarse sea salt at 5% of its trimmed weight.

Cover with a cutting board and weigh it down with a water-filled pot, then refrigerate 12 hours to press the moisture out.

Discard the liquid, set the duck skin side up on a rack in the sink and pour hot water over it to shrink and smooth the skin and wash off the salt. Pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 400F and heat a cast iron skillet until smoking hot.

Apply a thin layer of oil to the bottom of the hot skillet, put the duck on a foil-wrapped baking pan into the oven and set the hot skillet on top of it to press the oil out.

Bake 30 minutes.

For the brine, drizzle a couple tablespoons of oil into a large wok and toss in all the spices with the ginger slices, garlic, scallions and doubanjiang, stirring over medium-low heat a couple of minutes until fragrant.

Pour in the purified water, bring to a boil, then add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine and rock sugar. No extra salt, because the duck is already salted.

Simmer on low heat 15 minutes.

Transfer the roasted duck into the wok, cutting it in half if it does not fit, weighted down if the liquid does not cover it.

Simmer on low heat for one hour, flipping every 15 minutes for even cooking.

Transfer the duck skin side up onto a baking rack and return it to the oven at its lowest possible temperature, 150F here, to dehydrate 6 to 8 hours. The neck only needs 4 to 5 hours.

Wok care after braising a high salt solution: wash with warm water and no soap, rub with a soft sponge, rinse, dry on the stove over medium heat 20 to 30 seconds to evaporate the micro moisture, then rub a couple of drops of cooking oil all over with a paper towel.