SERVES 4 TO 5 IN LARGE BOWLS, 6 TO 8 IN SMALL BOWLS
Redolent of the smoky tones of duck and fresh shiitake mushrooms, this is a rather splendid soup, fit for impressing someone special if not only yourself. Haul out the Queen Victoria china and toast with a fine red wine—none of which is traditional, but neither is this soup.
The preparations may be done a day in advance. Then you can heat it up in minutes and eat it like a queen.
MARINADE:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1½ teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons Ma-La Oil (page 17) or China Moon Chili-Orange Oil (page 15)
½ teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
½ teaspoon cornstarch
½ to ¾ pound fresh skinless duck breasts, cut crosswise against the grain into thin ribbons
¼ cup dried tree ears
20 dried lily buds
3 tablespoons cornstarch
8 to 10 cups Duck Infusion with Szechwan Peppercorns (page 74)
⅓ cup soy sauce or 2½ tablespoons mushroom soy sauce
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Serrano-Lemongrass Vinegar (page 19) or unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar
¼ to ½ teaspoon Five-Flavor Oil (page 13), Ma-La Oil, or ¼ to ½ teaspoon Japanese sesame oil
4 to 5 fresh shiitake mushroom caps, sliced paper-thin
¼ cup thinly sliced green and white scallion rings
½ cup finely shredded carrots
3 tablespoons finely chopped Chinese or Western chives
At the restaurant, I favor Maple Leaf ducks, which come to us fresh from the Midwest and have a mild, sweet flavor. Beware of ducks that taste like old socks and the very rich Moscovy wild ducks that taste like liver. Neither is stellar in won-ton.
1. Combine the marinade ingredients; toss well with the duck. Seal airtight and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before cooking and re-toss to loosen the ribbons.
2. Soak the tree ears in 3 cups cold water until supple, about 30 minutes. Rinse under cool running water to dislodge any grit. Tear into nickel-size pieces, discarding any tough or woody bits.
3. Soak the lily buds in cold water to cover until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain; snip off the tough woody tips. Cut each bud crosswise in half.
4. About 20 minutes before serving the soup, dissolve the 3 tablespoons cornstarch in ½ cup of the cold infusion and leave the spoon in the bowl. Over low heat, bring the remaining infusion to a steaming near simmer in a large, non-aluminum pot.
5. While the soup heats, blanch the duck in a saucepan of water brought to a steaming near simmer. Slide the duck into the pot and swish gently to separate the slivers. Drain the duck when it is only 80 percent gray on the outside, as little as 10 seconds, and spread on a plate to cool. The duck should be very undercooked. It will poach to appropriate rareness in the soup.
6. Once the soup reaches a near simmer, add the soy sauce, stir, and taste. Add enough kosher salt to bring out the flavor of the stock and then enough pepper to zing your lips. Last, add the vinegar in a thin stream, tasting until the flavor is pleasantly sour. You may need as much as ⅓ cup. When the flavors are strong and balanced, bring the soup to a simmer, stir the cornstarch mixture to recombine, then add it to the pot, stirring. Once the soup turns glossy, in 2 to 3 minutes, turn off the heat. Stir in the oil.
7. Portion among heated soup bowls the duck, lily buds, tree ears, shiitake slices, scallions, carrots, and chives. Ladle the steaming seasoned infusion into the bowls and serve immediately.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: To continue in a regal, unorthodox way, you could follow this soup with a lightly bitter salad and pasta with truffles. If your mood is more Chinese and homespun, a savory Pan-Fried Scallion Bread (page 382) or a hot bundle of Mandarin Breadtwists (page 66) would be nice.
These oddly fragrant, long buds (the dried, brown flower of the unopened tiger lily) are a classic fixture in hot and sour soups. They are sold in plastic pouches, and are perhaps best when they are a lighter color and a bit supple in the bag. To use, soak in cool water until limp, about 15 minutes, then cut off the hard end where the flower once joined the stem. An overnight soak will give a lighter, cleaner flavor. To use, tie into a knot, shred lengthwise or cut crosswise in half; all three methods are traditional.
I confess to an aversion to lily buds. I was once stranded in a village in Taiwan’s central mountains on account of a rope bridge that blew away in a storm. Lilies were the village’s major crop, and I ate and smelled nothing but lily buds (and rice) for the two days it took to reconstruct the bridge. To brave crossing the bridge on the way back, I had only to think of one more meal of lilies!