Vincent And Mary Price Chinese Style Purple Plum Duck Food

VINCENT AND MARY PRICE CHINESE STYLE PURPLE PLUM DUCK

Steps:

• Clean and disjoint the duck. Dip the duck into soy sauce.
• Over high heat, cover the bottom of a heavy skillet with peanut oil to about 1/2 inch deep.
• When the oil is hot ("sizzling") add the pieces of duck and brown it evenly on both sides. Remove duck from skillet and drain on paper towels, pour out extra fat from pan, then replace browned duck into pan. Lower temperature to medium low.
• Mix the remainder of the soy sauce with the mashed canned plums, reserved plum syrup, ginger, chopped green onion, garlic, sweet sauce (if using), and salt. Pour the mixture over the browned duck pieces in the pan, cover, and let cook over slow heat for 30 minutes or until the duck is tender.
• Mix together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons plum juice and stir until smooth.
• Remove the duck and thicken the sauce in the pan over low heat by gradually stirring in the cornstarch mixture. Cook until smooth and clear.
• Pour the sauce over the duck and serve.
• Re "Chinese sweet sauce": the recipe nor book do not give any further info on the "sweet sauce" used, but I imagine that such substitutions could be made as an Asian based sweet duck sauce, plum sauce, or simply a tablespoon of brown sugar for each tablespoon sweet sauce.
• Note: in these health conscious days I would probably not use peanut oil to brown the duck, but rather olive oil. If I did use peanut oil, I certainly would not use 1/2 cup of it, as duck is a meat which is quite full of fat to begin with. It's up to you how you'd like to brown your duck and what amount of oil to use, but I've presented the recipe as originally given in the cookbook.

SHRIMP MARINADE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients.
• Mix well.
• Pour over boiled shrimp.
• Refrigerate for 10 hours before serving.

CHINESE-STYLE MOCK DUCK WITH NOODLES

Steps:

• Prepare noodles according to package directions. (Note: My udon had fairly elaborate directions involving: three boilings, the addition of cold water, a 5 minute "rest" after boiling, and a final rinse in cold water. Though this seemed overly fussy, I followed the directions exactly and was rewarded with the best home-cooked dry noodles/pasta I've ever eaten. So follow the directions for best results :-).).
• Rinse "duck" thoroughly. Dry with a paper towel and slice into bite-size pieces.
• Heat oil and black beans (smashed slightly) in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add the eggplant, zucchini, and "duck". Stir-fry for about three minutes, until vegetables start to soften.
• Add ginger, garlic, scallions, and chili flakes. Continue to stir-fry until the vegetables are cooked.
• Meanwhile combine sauce ingredients in a 2 c measuring cup, adding enough water to make a total of 3/4 cups sauce. Stir very well to incorporate cornstarch.
• Add sauce mixture to stir fry, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 3 minutes until it bubbles and thickens.
• Add cooked noodles to the pan and stir to combine. Serve hot.

RED COOKED CHICKEN, EASTERN CHINESE STYLE

Steps:

• Star anise (available in Asian markets) comes in cellophane bags.
• Whole ones have a total of eight points, each with an anise seed inside.
• If you can't find a whole one, just count out eight broken pieces.
• Use a little more or less to taste but don't omit it since it's an important element in this recipe.
• The original recipe calls for Chinese rock sugar which imparts a lustrous finish to the gravy.
• Available in Asian stores.
• Remove any excess fat from the chicken.
• Heat oil and brown chicken on all sides.
• Add the anise, scallions, ginger& garlic and brown slightly.
• Combine the soy sauces, brown sugar, stock and sherry and pour into the pot with the chicken.
• Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down until the sauce is simmering slightly.
• Cook uncovered for 45- 50 minutes, turning and basting every 10 minutes.
• To serve just pull the meat off with a serving fork.
• Use the gravy on the chicken and on rice.

FLAN

Steps:

• Measure 3 tbsp sugar into an 8 inch layer cake pan. Place over heat and stir constantly until the sugar melts and turns a dark caramel color. Let it cool until the caramel hardens.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Put 3 ounces of blanched almonds in a blender. Blend on high speed for 3 seconds. Leave the nuts in the blender container.
• Add 1 1/3 cups condensed milk, 3/4 cup cream, 3 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks. Stir to mix, then blend on high speed for 8 to 10 seconds.
• Empty into the caramelized pan, set pan in a larger pan containing about 1/2 inch hot water, and bake for 45 minutes, or until set at 325 degrees.
• Cool and place in the refrigerator. Do not remove from the pan until the following day.
• Invert the flan onto a chilled platter -- it should slip out easily.