Cantonese-style roast duck with pak choi, spinach and asparagus

Method

1. First prepare the duck. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the duck, return to the boil, then remove, and allow to cool. Season the cavity with Chinese five-spice powder.

2. For the marinade: add the soy sauce, rice wine, chilli sauce, yellow rock sugar, dried orange peel, red chilli, ginger, cinnamon, star anise and water in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and cook briskly until reduced by half. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

3. Strain the marinade into a deep-sided roasting tray. Add the duck, breast side-down, and marinade for 1 hour.

4. Remove the duck from the marinade and place on a trivet in a roasting tray - roast for 20 minutes, until beginning to colour.

5. Reduce the oven temperature to 170C/gas 3, brush the duck with the leftover marinade and roast for a further 40 minutes, brushing the duck with the marinade every 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before carving into portions.

6. To cook the pak choi, spinach and asparagus. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the bok choy and asparagus, and blanch for 1-2 minutes before draining in a colander.

7. Heat a wok with the groundnut oil and when hot, add the ginger, chilli, red onion. and stir-fry for 2 minutes - until fragrant. Add the blanched bok choy and asparagus and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Tip in the spinach, soy sauce and coriander - stir-fry until the spinach has just wilted .

8. Serve the roast duck with stir-fried vegetables and accompany with steamed rice.