Recipe - Pressed Duck With Sweet And Sour Plum Sauce

5 pound Long Island duck, cleaned
1 tablespoon Chinese fivespice powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Water chestnut powder
Boiling water
Sweet and sour plum sauce
Oil for deep frying
Crushed toasted almonds

Place duck in large kettle or Dutch oven with enough boiling water to
cover. Add spices and salt and simmer covered until tender, about 1 to 1
One fourth hours. Remove duck from liquid and let cool.
Remove meat from bones and discard skin. Pour chestnut powder into
small baking pan (an 8inch aluminum pan works well; powder should be 1/2
to One fourth inch deep). Press meat into powder. Cover and steam 30 minutes, or
until powder has gelatinized into thick, heavy crust. Remove from steamer
and let cool.
Cover and chill until ready to complete. About 30 minutes before
serving time, prepare sweet and sour plum sauce; set aside and keep warm.
Warm a serving platter in low oven. Preheat oil in deep fryer to 375 F.
Slice duck into bitesize chunks and fry quickly in batches until crisp and
browned. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat until
cooking is completed. Serve immediately with sweet and sour plum sauce
topped with nuts. From Bon Appetit's "Oriental Favorites."

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini