Braised Duck Legs

A duck legs recipe done Chinese style, similar to char siu barbecue, only the duck legs are braised with char siu BBQ sauce.

 

Ingredients

4-5  duck legs
1 tablespoon oil
5 slices fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon rock sugar (or regular sugar)
½ cup Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
1 ½ tablespoons dark soy sauce
¼ cup light soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 star anise
6 cloves
3 bay leaves
1/2 of large onion

Direction:

Step 1:    Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok over medium heat, and swirl it around to coat the wok. Lower the duck legs into the wok and let the skin brown and crisp up slightly. You will end up with a lot more oil than you started with, as the fat renders out of the duck.

    

 

Step 2:    Add the ginger and garlic for about 1 minute. Stir in the sugar until it’s melted. Add the cooking wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, rice vinegar, anise, cloves, bay leaves, onion, dried orange peels, 3 cups water and the duck. The liquid should come up about halfway up the duck. Add a little more water as needed.

    

 

Step 3:    Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 50-60 minutes, flipping the duck legs every 15 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly.