Beer duck with less oil and less greasiness
Materials
Steps for making non-greasy beer duck
Chop the fermented soybeans
Spices: Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, bay leaves, star anise, and cinnamon. Soak in water for a short while, then drain and let it cool. This step prevents the spices from burning.
Cut the duck legs, trimmed of fat, into small pieces, and set aside the fatty parts.
Marinate duck meat and duck legs with salt, Shaoxing wine, scallion segments, and ginger slices, then mix well.
Put only a little oil in the pot to render the duck fat, and fry it slowly over low heat.
A lot of oil will come out after a while. This step is crucial for reducing greasiness, as there will be a lot of oil when frying the duck later. This step lets you know how much oil is coming out and you can reduce the amount accordingly. I poured out some oil.
Sauté ginger slices, scallion segments, garlic cloves, and spices over low heat.
Add the marinated duck meat to the stir-fry pan. This step takes a little time, so stir-fry patiently for a while.
Stir-fry until most of the duck meat has browned edges.
Stir-fry the fermented soybean paste over low heat. Push the duck meat to one side, add the fermented soybean paste, and stir-fry until the oil turns red.
Stir-fry evenly until the color develops.
Add beer, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, and sugar to the stewed duck. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 40 minutes. The water should completely cover the duck; adding more water or cooking it longer is fine as long as the duck meat doesn't fall apart.
I added some side dishes because we had guests over today. Adding side dishes is optional. Cut the konjac tofu into cubes and blanch it. I also blanched the bamboo shoots I bought. Both the konjac and bamboo shoots should be cooked for about 10 minutes, so add them after 30 minutes of cooking. The konjac won't disintegrate.
Reduce the sauce over high heat, watching the liquid level. Add some green chili peppers when the liquid is almost gone. Chili peppers cook quickly, just a minute is enough. There won't be much sauce left after cooking, just right.
The duck meat was tender when the dish was served, the konjac and bamboo shoots were flavorful, and the green chili peppers were still crisp.
