Vit Quay (Roast Duck)

Duck , about 2.25 kg in weight

90g Fresh root ginger, peeled, roughly chopped and lightly crushed

4 cloves Garlic, peeled and crushed

1 stalk Lemon grass, halved and crushed

4 Spring onions (scallions), halved and crushed

80 ml Nuoc mam

30 ml Soy sauce

30 ml Honey

15 ml Five-spice powder

5 ml Ground ginger

Ginger dipping sauce, nuoc mam gung

Pickled vegetables and salad leaves, to serve

• In a bowl, beat the marinade ingredients together until the honey has dissolved. Using your fingers, rub the skin of the duck lightly to loosen it, until you can get your fingers between the skin and the meat.
• Rub the marinade all over the duck, inside its skin and out, then place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If any of the marinade drips into the tray, rub it back over the duck.
• Preheat the oven to 220oC. Stuff the ginger, garlic, lemon grass and spring onions into the duck's cavity and tie the legs with string. Using a bamboo or metal skewer, poke holes in the skin, including the legs.
• Place the duck, breast side down, on a rack over a roasting pan and cook it in the oven for 45 minutes, basting from time to time with the juices that have dripped into the pan.
• After 45 minutes, turn the duck over so that it is breast side up. Baste it generously and return it to the oven for a further 45 minutes, basting it every 15 minutes. The duck is ready once the juices run clear when the bird is pierced with a skewer.
• Serve immediately, pulling at the skin and meat with your fingers, rather than neatly carving it.
• Serve with ginger dipping sauce, nuoc mam gung, pickled vegetables and salad leaves for wrapping up the morsels.

Crisping the skin

It is essential to allow the duck to rest in the refrigerator for a day and a night to let the skin dry out so that it will become crispy when cooked.