Eight Treasures Duck
“A whole duck deboned through the cavity, stuffed with glutinous rice and seven other treasures, steamed for hours then crisped — a Shanghai banquet showpiece.”
The bite
Sliced open at the table, the duck collapses to reveal a sticky-rice core flecked with ham, mushroom, lotus seed, ginkgo. The skin is glass-crisp from the oil pour, the meat underneath ready to fall apart. The rice has soaked four hours of duck fat and ham brine — savoury, dense, almost meaty itself. If the skin tears during deboning, no glaze will save the presentation.
Where it comes from
A Shanghai banquet dish with roots in Jiangnan stuffed-poultry traditions going back at least to the Qing dynasty — Yuan Mei's 1792 cookbook 'Suiyuan Shidan' describes a near-identical stuffed duck. The Shanghai version codified the eight-ingredient filling and the steam-then-fry finish in the early 20th century, when the city's restaurant culture demanded a centerpiece dish that could be prepped a day ahead.
What makes it work
Deboning is the irreversible step — break the skin and the rice swells through it, ruining both texture and presentation. The four-hour steam is what makes the dish make sense: it renders fat into the rice (which doubles as gravy carrier) and softens connective tissue so the meat slumps around the filling. A short final oil-baste, not a deep-fry, crisps the skin without overcooking the meat that's been steamed past doneness.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
6 steps · Show ↓90 min active · 240 min waiting
How it's made
6 steps · Show ↓- 145 min
Debone a 2kg duck through the neck and tail openings, leaving the skin intact. Work the bones out with fingers and a small knife, keeping wing and drumstick bones in for shape. Rub inside and out with salt, soy, Shaoxing wine, white pepper.
- 215 min
Soak 200g glutinous rice 2 hours, then mix with 50g diced Jinhua ham, 50g rehydrated dried shiitake, 30g lotus seeds (cooked), 30g ginkgo nuts, 30g chestnuts, 30g dried shrimp, 4 salted egg yolks, 1 tbsp light soy.
- 310 min
Stuff the duck loosely (rice expands). Sew or skewer the openings shut. Sit the duck breast-up in a deep heatproof bowl.
- 4240 min
Steam over high heat for 4 hours. The duck collapses around the filling and the skin turns translucent. Pour off accumulated fat and reserve.
- 520 min
Carefully transfer the duck onto a wide tray, breast-up. Brush with dark soy + maltose syrup (1:1) and let air-dry 15 minutes.
- 65 min
Heat oil to 200°C. Ladle hot oil over the duck breast for 2 minutes until skin crisps and goes lacquered red. Lift onto serving plate, breast intact, present whole — slice tableside.
