For this year's Chinese New Year we thought, why not roast a duck? Easier said indeed. Questions of "eh do you know a good duck recipe?" Are met with blank stares. Oh many people know of other people who cook it well- "my mother makes the most fabulous braised duck," said one. "I have a friend who lives in Singapore and there's this thing he does with duck..." there's a smacking of lips. "Eh... why bother, just go to Canton Fare/ Paramount Garden/ DU and order it la..."

Right.

None of this is the least bit helpful, although it made me suddenly desire one of those melt in your mouth roast ducks, with fat dripping underneath a crispy skin. Mmm... duck fat is good...

Then, there was the fiasco of finding the said duck which we finally did at Solaris' Cold Storage. And in a fit of panic in case we never found duck again, we bought two.

So we had two ducks and no idea how to cook them. And did they have to come with head and webs intact? It's as though, "we have to keep the head on, in case people might mistake it for a mutant chicken." Anyway... we went a little Western with one where Alex roasted it like one would a chicken and rubbed it with some ginger, soy sauce and honey.

It's quite an effort...

While I went the whole hog, or err... the whole duck, where I poured it with boiling water and tied it up for a couple of hours. Needless to say my sister was not impressed having a whole duck hanging above the sink. I didn't have the patience to wait too long so after about an hour, I stuffed it full of Chinese spices and roasted it. So my duck turned out crispier but I actually preferred Alex's even though her duck was not as crispy- it was however quite succulent. Mine was too herbally. So here's the recipe for our Roast Duck in case you have the urge to cook a Quacker.

"Two ducks and no idea how to cook them."

Ingredients:
1 Duck
1 Tbs Vinegar
1 Tbs Honey
1 Tbs Soy
1 Tbs Grated Ginger
2 Scallions, sliced
1 Tbs Sesame Oil
Salt to season

Method:
Preheat oven to 200C.

Clean the duck. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Pour vinegar on a paper towel and wipe the inside of the duck with it to cleanse it thoroughly. Prick skin all over with a sharp fork. Sprinkle salt all over the duck and let sit for an hour to help the skin to dry and crisp up. Pat the duck dry once again.

Roast duck breast side up, 30mins, then remove from oven and turn the duck over and roast another 15mins. Mix together the honey, ginger, and soy to form a glaze. Glaze the duck at this point and roast another 15mins. Take the duck out again and flip it over and glaze again. Cook for another 20mins. Glaze once more and cook for another 10mins till the skin is dark and crisp. Take the duck out of the oven.

In a pan heat up sesame oil and toss in chopped scallions. Pour hot oil over the duck to add more flavour and help with the crisping of the skin. Enjoy!

Another thing they don't tell you is how hard it is to carve a duck. After much struggle we managed to enjoy the moist flesh. Best eaten warm with a plum dipping sauce.