Recipe | Tea-Smoked Duck

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 large duck - about 1.5 to 2 kg

1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, pounded together

Salt and pepper

3 tbsp tea leaves (green tea or pu'er tea)

3 tbsp rock sugar, crushed

3 tbsp raw rice

Method:

1. Remove duck breasts and legs. Skin and trim fat from rest of duck and chop into chunks. Reserve for soup or some other use.

2. Wash and dry duck breast and legs thoroughly and rub with Sichuan pepper and salt mixture. Wash hands well after this and do not rub your eyes.

3. Marinate duck meat, covered, for at least an hour, preferably overnight for the best flavor.

4. Line bottom of a sturdy large wok with aluminum foil. Place tea leaves, rice and sugar at the bottom.

5. Place duck pieces on a rack on top of tea mixture. Start the fire and watch carefully. When mixture begins to smoke, cover wok tightly for about 15 minutes. Switch off heat and let it continue to smoke for another 10 minutes.

6. Remove duck pieces, sear skin over high heat in a non-stick pan to crisp, slice and serve with vegetables and rice.