Casserole of Duck with Dumplings Recipe

Remove the fat from the cavity of theduck, discard the parson's nose and trim off any excess neck skin. Rinseand drain the duck. Mix the ginger, salt and black pepper and rub wellinto the duck, inside and out. Leave to stand for 1 hour.

Place the duck in a large casserole, addthe sherry, ginger slices and spring onion, cover and bring to a slowboil over moderate heat.

Turn down the heat, skim off any scumadding enough liquid so that the duck doesn't burn and adjust the heatso that it simmers as its gentlest. Cover and leave for 3 hours.

Make the dumplings by mixing the flour andboiling water in a large bowl, a little at a time, with a wooden spoon.

Do not concern yourself with what it looks like at this stage.

Chop the pork to loosen it and put it in asecond bowl. Slice the shrimps lengthways and then cut them into 1/4inch pieces. Mix with the pork.

Cut the white cabbage leaves lengthwaysinto narrow strips and then cross-cut to dice them. Mince and mix withsalt and leave for 5 minutes. Squeeze dry and add to the meat mixturewith the rest of the ingredients except the flour. Stir until smooth andpasty. Divide the mixture into 16 portions.

Knead the dough for a few minutes until itis soft and smooth, dusting with flour if necessary. Roll it out into a40cm long sausage and cut with a sharp knife into 1 inch pieces. Dip thecut sides in flour, press into small round cakes with the palm of yourhand and roll out into round wrappers 4 inch across.

Lay a wrapper in the palm of one hand andput a portion of filling in it with the other. Spread with a table knifeto within 1 cm of the edge. Gather the wrapper up and press the ends tomake a little basket. Press the back of a knife deep into the basketabout 10 time to form indentations, which help to hold the filling inplace. You should have 16 dumplings. Put them on a plate and steam overa medium high heat for 20 minutes. Set aside.

Skim off the fat from the casserole afterit has been cooking for 3 hours and discard it. Scatter in the ham,bamboo shoots and the dumplings. Cover and simmer for another 5-10minutes. Add salt to taste.

Serve in the casserole. Guests helpthemselves by tearing the bird apart with chopsticks. If they are notsufficiently proficient, you could chop it in the kitchen, put thepieces back into the casserole and bring it back to the boil beforeserving at the table. Ladle into individual soup bowls.