ASIAN DUCK SOUP

About once a year, my friends and I head down to Chinatown for a Peking Duck feast. There’s a great restaurant — Hwa Yuan Szechuan on East Broadway — that serves this classic dish tableside. After the waiter slices every last possible bit of meat off of the carcass, I ask him to wrap up the bones and leftovers for this amazing broth. I’m always a bit embarrassed to ask, but I forget about all of that once I sit down to eat this yummy soup.

INGREDIENTS (serves 8)

FOR BROTH

2 small cinnamon sticks

5 star anise

6 cloves

10 whole coriander seeds

10 whole peppercorns

1 duck carcass, preferably with neck

2 turkey necks

4 quarts tap water

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 large carrot, coarsely chopped

2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves smashed with a knife

1 inch knob of ginger, smashed with a knife

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

½ teaspoon red pepper chili flakes

FOUR SOUP

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, sliced

4 baby bok choy, rough chop

6 dried Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced

2 cups of cooked duck meat, cubed (chicken or turkey can be substituted)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

10 cups of duck broth

1 pound of rice vermicelli or other rice noodles

Bean sprouts, for garnish

Scallions, sliced for garnish

Fried onions, sliced for garnish

PREPARATION

FOR BROTH

Combine cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, coriander seed and peppercorns into a tied sachet. Set aside.

Place duck carcass and turkey necks into a large stock pot or dutch oven. Add in water, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and crack lid to allow evaporation. Every two hours, replenish water that has evaporated, bring back to boil, then down to simmer. The total simmer time should be 8 hours.

At the end of 8 hours, add the spice sachet, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Bring back to boil, then down to simmer for a final 90 minutes.

Turn off heat, remove spice sachet, and allow to cool on stove. Refrigerate over night.

In the morning, the liquid may have congealed due to the bone collagen. Just reheat enough to liquefy again, about five minutes. Using another large pot, pour liquid through a chinois or sieve. Discard vegetables and other solids. Refrigerate until you’re ready to make soup, or freeze for up to two months.

FOR SOUP

Place dried mushrooms into a bowl of warm water and rehydrate for 25 minutes. Drain water, slice mushrooms, and set aside.

In a separate large pot, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add in onion and sauté until it becomes translucent and begins to caramelize, about 6-8 minutes.

Add in duck meat, bok choy, sliced mushrooms and sauté for one minute. Add in soy sauce and mirin. Add in duck broth and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes.

In a separate pot, cook noodles as per package suggestion. (I keep noodles separate from broth until serving.)

Divide noodles into soup bowls, cover with soup. Garnish with scallions, fried onions, and bean sprouts.