Miso Roasted Duck With Cherry Glazed Bok Choy Food

SEARED BOK CHOY

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add the bok choy cut-side down and cook, continuing to stir the garlic to keep it from burning but without moving the bok choy to get a nice even sear, until the bok choy is dark brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, soy molasses or oyster sauce and a few tablespoons of water. Serve immediately or cover and hold in the skillet until ready to serve.
• Combine the soy sauce, molasses, sesame oil, garlic, ginger powder, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar and honey in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring to a slight boil, whisking or stirring constantly. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

CHINATOWN STEAMED AND ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Duck is notoriously a fatty bird, to diminish the fat and produce a crispy skin, begin by trimming the excess fat from the neck and body. Rinse the duck, inside and out, and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Combine the Chinese five-spice, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the duck, inside and out. Salt and five-spice powder makes a fragrant dry marinade, which draws some of the moisture from the duck so that the spices penetrate. Stuff the duck cavity with the aromatics: the ginger, garlic, green onions, and tangerine peel. Fold the wing tips back under the duck and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Poke the duck breast a few times, piercing the skin.
• Place a roasting pan on the stovetop over 2 burners and fill with 2-inches of water, turn the heat to medium. Set a V-rack insert inside the pan and lay the duck on the rack, breast-side up. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Steam the duck for 45 minutes, checking the water level periodically. Steaming the duck first melts away some of the fat and shrinks the skin.
• In a small saucepan combine the vinegar, honey, and soy sauce over low heat. Cook and stir for 5 minutes until thick. The duck will be lacquered with the sweet glaze, which caramelizes during roasting, making the skin crisp and brown.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Take the foil off the duck, remove the rack with the duck, and pour out the water and all the fat that has rendered out (this is great to use in other dishes like fried rice.) Put the rack with the duck back inside the roasting pan. Baste the duck with the vinegar mixture, until all the skin is completely coated in the glaze. Stick the whole thing in the oven. Roast the duck for 1 hour, basting periodically with any remaining glaze to set in a deep mahogany color. Tent the breast with some foil if it gets too dark. The legs will wiggle easily when it's done. Carve and serve.

GRILLED BABY BOK CHOY WITH MISO BUTTER

Steps:

• Cut the leaves away from the bok choy stalks. Halve the stalks lengthwise. Rinse the leaves and stalks well, then pat dry to remove any excess water. In a small bowl, mix together the butter and miso with a fork until well combined. Set aside.
• Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill. Put the bok choy stalks in a large bowl. Using your hands (or a fork), coat the bok choy with the miso butter. Arrange the bok choy, cut side down, on the grill grate. (If you have a grill screen, set it on top of the grate before adding the bok choy, to keep the stalks from falling through the gaps.) Close the lid and grill for about 5 minutes, until golden brown on the underside. Turn the bok choy with tongs, re-cover, and grill for 5 to 6 minutes more, until golden and crisp-tender.
• While the stalks are cooking, stack the bok choy leaves and roll them up lengthwise into a cigar shape. Slice the leaves crosswise into thin shreds. Make a bed of the shredded leaves on a serving platter. Drizzle the leaves with the oil and lemon juice, sprinkle with the salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and toss to combine.
• Put the grilled bok choy on the dressed salad to wilt the leaves; sprinkle additional pepper over the bok choy. Serve immediately.