Braised Duck

Braised duck or 'Lor Ark' in hokkien, its my mum's signature dish. I have eaten this for years but this is my first time doing it.

Its an impulse decision to make it. Two simple reason:
1) Saw a lone duck lying in the NTUC chiller
2) Going to MIL place for dinner that night and a duck is just the right dish to share for 4 pax

What do u need?
1 medium sized duck
1 star anise
1 cinnamon (cracked open)
1 large piece of ginger (sliced and flatten)

4 cloves of garlic (flatten)

2 tablespoon of sugar

4/5 bowl of dark soya sauce

Water

How to do it?

Fry star anise, cinnamon, ginger, garlic in oil until fragrant and brown

Add sugar and fry until all sugar is melted

Add dark soya sauce followed by enough water to submerge the duck halfway to three thirds of the way. Duck breast side down first, bring to boil on high heat, then turn to medium low and continue to simmer. Close pot with lid. Turn every 15 mins. Can add more water mid way if there is not enough water for cooking the duck. Everytime you add water, remember to bring to boil before turning down the heat to simmer.

Cook for 1 hr or 1 hr 15 mins for really tender duck meat. At the end of the cooking, there should be about 1/3 of the gravy left to go with the duck. Remove duck and leave to cool before cutting. If the gravy is too watery, continue to cook it after removing duck to evaporate the excess water. During this time, you can 'cheat' by adjusting the taste (adding more soya sauce if too sweet, or adding more sugar if too salty).