Kitchen Recipe Collection
Eight Treasure Stuffed Duck (Ba Bao Ya)
A grand, festive banquet centerpiece. A whole duck is completely deboned without breaking the skin, stuffed with sticky rice and eight 'treasures', then steamed and deep-fried.
- Prep
- 180 min
- Cook
- 120 min
- Total
- 300 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- hard
- Cuisine
- Chinese
Ingredients
Scaled for 6 servings
- 1 whole duck (approx. 2 kg)
- 2 cups glutinous rice (sticky rice), soaked overnight
- 50g dried scallops, rehydrated and shredded
- 50g dried shrimp, rehydrated
- 50g Chinese sausage (Lap Cheong), diced
- 50g smoked ham (Jinhua), diced
- 50g dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and diced
- 50g bamboo shoots, diced
- 50g lotus seeds, soaked
- 50g ginkgo nuts or chestnuts
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- Oil for deep frying
- Dark soy sauce and honey (for glazing the skin)
Equipment
- Sharp boning knife
- Kitchen needle and twine
- Large wok for frying
- Large steamer
Instructions
- 1
Debone the Duck
Carefully remove all the bones from the duck through the neck opening, keeping the skin entirely intact. (This is a master-level knife skill).
- 2
Prepare Filling
Steam the soaked glutinous rice for 30 minutes until cooked.
- 3
Stir-fry Treasures
In a wok, stir-fry the sausage, ham, shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, lotus seeds, and ginkgo nuts.
- 4
Mix Stuffing
Mix the cooked sticky rice into the wok with the 'eight treasures'. Season heavily with soy sauce and oyster sauce.
- 5
Stuff the Duck
Stuff the rice mixture into the cavity of the deboned duck. Do not overstuff, as the rice expands.
- 6
Sew Shut
Use a kitchen needle and twine to sew the neck and tail openings tightly shut.
- 7
Blanch and Glaze
Blanch the stuffed duck in boiling water for 3 minutes to tighten the skin. Brush the skin with a mixture of dark soy sauce and honey.
- 8
Steam
Place the stuffed duck in a large steamer. Steam for 90 minutes. This fully cooks the meat and melts the fat into the rice.
- 9
Cool
Carefully remove the incredibly fragile steamed duck and let it cool completely so it firms up.
- 10
Heat Oil
Heat a large wok full of oil to 375°F (190°C).
- 11
Deep Fry
Carefully lower the duck into the hot oil. Fry for 5-8 minutes, ladling oil over the top, until the skin is deeply mahogany and crispy.
- 12
Serve
Remove the twine. Slice the duck open at the table to reveal the fragrant, savory sticky rice inside.
Cooking Tips
- If deboning a whole duck without breaking the skin is too intimidating, you can leave the bones in, simply stuff the cavity, sew it shut, and roast it instead.
- The 'eight treasures' can vary based on regional availability, but they must contain a mix of dried seafood, cured meats, and crunchy nuts/seeds.
Variations
- Eight Treasure Gourd Duck: The duck is tied with string in the middle before cooking to make it look like a bottle gourd, a symbol of good luck.
Nutrition Estimate
850 calories · 45g protein · 55g carbs · 48g fat · 4g fiber per serving
