Authentic method of Eight Treasure Duck

Eight Treasure Duck is a traditional Shanghai delicacy that is popular among the people because of its melt-in-the-mouth texture, tenderness and juiciness. There are also many Eight Treasure Ducks on the market, but due to the complicated production process of Eight Treasure Duck, some businesses reduce the production process in pursuit of greater profits, resulting in the Eight Treasure Duck not being as authentic as the traditional Eight Treasure Duck. So what is the authentic method of making Eight Treasure Duck? Let’s learn about it together.

1. Main ingredient: a fresh duck (I bought a Muscovy duck, which weighed 15 pounds and was the smallest), 2. Supporting ingredients: stuffing (glutinous rice, thick-headed mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, ham, pork belly, water chestnuts, chestnuts, carrots, peas, and red dates) 3. Soup ingredients: star anise, bay leaves, ginger, and red dates (optional, because we have more red dates at home, and because you don’t need to add sugar when seasoning, which also enhances the flavor of the red dates.

2. Soak the glutinous rice for at least two hours, dice all other fillings and mix them with the glutinous rice, add salt and soy sauce to adjust the saltiness.

3. Clean out the duck's stomach completely. Although the duck is already gutted when you buy it, they often don't remove the duck's lungs, trachea, etc. (the same goes for other poultry), so you have to clean and drain the water yourself.

4. After cleaning the duck's stomach, fill the mixed glutinous rice filling into the duck's stomach. Don't fill it too full, as the glutinous rice will expand after cooking. Don't press it too tightly, as that will make it difficult to cook. You can also fill the duck's neck with filling.

5. Then use needle and thread sterilized in a microwave to sew and operate on the duck's stomach and neck, so that the contents of the stomach will be easier to cook.

6. Finally, put the duck into a large pot, add water and the soup ingredient 3 mentioned above, bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the floating residue, then turn to medium-low heat and simmer for two or three hours. You can also poke holes in the duck breast with a toothpick. In the last hour, add soy sauce and salt to season.

7. Another method is to steam the mixed rice for an hour before stuffing it into the duck's stomach. In this way, the cooking time for the whole duck can be relatively shortened, and it is also easier for novices to determine whether the duck is cooked through.