How to Cook Roast Duck: A Guide to Cantonese-Style Roast Duck
Cantonese roast duck is known for its beautifully crisp, glossy skin, juicy meat and rich savoury flavour. Found hanging in the windows of traditional Chinese roast-meat restaurants, it is one of the most recognisable dishes in Cantonese cuisine.
While achieving restaurant-quality roast duck takes time and preparation, the process itself is relatively straightforward when you understand the key stages: seasoning, drying, glazing and roasting.
In this guide, we explain how to prepare and cook Cantonese-style roast duck, along with the techniques that help create that distinctive crisp skin and tender meat.
What Is Cantonese Roast Duck?
Cantonese roast duck, often known as siu ngaap (燒鴨), is a traditional Cantonese roasted meat prepared by seasoning a whole duck before air-drying and roasting it until the skin becomes crisp and deeply coloured.
Unlike a standard British roast duck, Cantonese-style duck typically uses aromatic Chinese seasonings both inside and outside the bird.
Common ingredients include:
Five-spice powder
Star anise
Ginger
Spring onion
Garlic
Soy sauce
Hoisin sauce
Shaoxing wine
Maltose or honey
Chinese red vinegar
The exact seasoning varies between chefs and restaurants, with many traditional roast-meat businesses developing their own recipes over generations.
Cantonese Roast Duck vs Peking Duck
Although the dishes are sometimes confused, Cantonese roast duck and Peking duck are not the same thing.
Peking duck places particular emphasis on extremely crisp skin, which is traditionally served separately or alongside pancakes, spring onion and sauce.
Cantonese roast duck is generally seasoned more heavily, with aromatics placed inside the duck before roasting. The meat and skin are normally chopped and served together.
For Cantonese restaurants, the flavour and texture of the meat are therefore just as important as achieving crisp skin.
How to Prepare a Duck for Cantonese Roasting
Preparation is one of the most important parts of making good roast duck.
1. Prepare the whole duck
Remove any packaging and check the cavity of the duck.
Trim away excess fat around the cavity if necessary, but avoid removing too much skin because the skin protects the meat during roasting.
Pat the duck thoroughly dry.
For professional roasting kitchens, choosing ducks with consistent weight and size can also make cooking times and finished portions easier to manage.
2. Season the inside of the duck
A traditional Cantonese-style seasoning mixture might include:
Chinese five spice
Salt
Sugar
Soy sauce
Hoisin sauce
Shaoxing wine
Ginger
Garlic
Spring onion
Star anise
Combine your seasoning ingredients and spread them throughout the cavity of the duck.
The opening can then be secured before the duck is prepared for glazing and drying.
Different roast-meat restaurants will naturally have their own preferred seasoning blend.
3. Scald the skin
One of the secrets to crisp Cantonese roast duck is preparing the skin properly before roasting.
Carefully pour boiling water over the outside of the duck.
You'll notice the skin immediately begin to tighten.
This helps prepare the surface for glazing and encourages the skin to become crisp during roasting.
Allow excess water to drain away before moving on to the glaze.
How to Make the Cantonese Roast Duck Glaze
The glossy reddish-brown appearance of Cantonese roast duck comes partly from the glaze applied before roasting.
A simple glaze can be made using:
Maltose + hot water + Chinese red vinegar
Honey can also be used when maltose isn't available, although maltose is commonly preferred in traditional Chinese roasting.
Brush or pour the glaze evenly over the entire surface of the duck.
Make sure the skin is thoroughly coated.
Drying the Duck Before Roasting
This is arguably the most important stage if you want crispy skin.
After glazing, the duck needs time to dry.
The surface should feel dry rather than wet or sticky before it goes into the oven.
Traditional Cantonese roast-meat kitchens may hang prepared ducks in controlled conditions before roasting.
For home preparation, the duck can instead be placed uncovered in the refrigerator overnight, ensuring that normal food-safety practices are followed.
The purpose is simple:
Less surface moisture = crispier skin.
Putting a wet duck directly into the oven encourages the skin to steam rather than crisp.
How to Cook Cantonese Roast Duck
Once the duck has been seasoned, glazed and thoroughly dried, it is ready to roast.
Professional Chinese roasting ovens differ considerably from domestic ovens, so temperatures and cooking times will depend on your equipment and the size of the duck.
For a domestic oven, a useful starting approach is:
Step 1 — Bring the oven up to temperature
Preheat your oven to approximately 200°C.
Place the duck on a roasting rack so that hot air can circulate around it and excess fat can drip away.
Step 2 — Begin roasting
Roast the duck at the higher temperature initially to help the skin begin colouring and crisping.
Step 3 — Reduce the heat
Reduce the oven to around 180°C and continue roasting until the duck is cooked through.
A whole duck will commonly take approximately 1½–2 hours, although the exact cooking time depends heavily on its weight, oven and preparation method.
Step 4 — Check the duck
The skin should become:
Deep golden to reddish brown
Glossy
Crisp
Evenly roasted
Most importantly, ensure that the duck is completely cooked through before serving.
How Do You Get Crispy Skin on Roast Duck?
If your roast duck isn't becoming crispy, there are usually a few common causes.
Dry the skin thoroughly
Moisture is the enemy of crisp skin. Allowing enough drying time before roasting makes an enormous difference.
Scald the duck first
Hot water tightens the skin and helps prepare it for roasting.
Use a glaze
Maltose or honey helps produce the distinctive colour and finish associated with Cantonese roast duck.
Allow the fat to render
Duck naturally contains a considerable amount of fat beneath the skin.
During roasting, that fat needs time to render out so the skin can become crisp.
Don't overcrowd the oven
Professional kitchens roasting several ducks need enough airflow around each bird for consistent results.
How Long Does Cantonese Roast Duck Take to Cook?
Cooking time varies depending on the size of the duck and the roasting equipment being used.
As a broad domestic guide:
Duck size | Approximate roasting time |
2kg | 1 hr 30 mins–1 hr 45 mins |
2.5kg | 1 hr 45 mins–2 hrs |
2.8kg | Around 2 hrs |
These should only be treated as approximate timings.
Always check that the duck is properly cooked before serving rather than relying solely on cooking time.
What Size Duck Is Best for Cantonese Roast Duck?
For restaurants, consistency is particularly important.
A consistently sized duck helps kitchens standardise:
Cooking times
Portion sizes
Yield
Presentation
Food costs
Lung Wah Chong supplies BR Tomassen whole ducks in approximately 2.6–2.8kg sizes, making them particularly suited to professional roasting kitchens and traditional Chinese restaurants.
BR Tomassen duck is also Halal, providing an option for restaurants catering to a wider customer base.
Serving Cantonese Roast Duck
Once cooked, allow the duck to rest briefly before chopping.
Traditional Cantonese roast duck is normally cut through both the crispy skin and meat so that each serving contains a combination of textures.
It can be served with:
Steamed rice
Noodles
Chinese vegetables
Plum sauce
Hoisin-based sauces
Ginger and spring onion
Other Cantonese roast meats such as char siu or crispy pork belly
For restaurants, it can also form part of a traditional siu mei selection.
Cantonese Roast Duck for Professional Kitchens
Producing excellent roast duck consistently becomes even more important when you're cooking at commercial scale.
Restaurants need more than flavour alone. Consistent sizing, reliable supply, good meat yield and predictable roasting performance all affect the finished dish.
Lung Wah Chong has supplied Chinese restaurants, chefs and foodservice businesses across the UK since 1987 and is an official agent for BR Tomassen duck.
Our wholesale duck range includes:
Raw Duck
Premium BR Tomassen whole duck for restaurants producing their own roast duck.
Crispy Aromatic Duck
A convenient, minimal-bone option designed to reduce kitchen preparation and labour.
Pre-Marinated Duck
Prepared solutions for businesses looking for greater consistency and reduced preparation time.
Looking for wholesale duck?
Discover our full range of raw, crispy and pre-marinated duck for restaurants and professional kitchens across London and the UK.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make Cantonese roast duck crispy?
The key steps are scalding the skin, applying a maltose-based glaze and allowing the duck to dry thoroughly before roasting. Proper drying allows the skin to crisp rather than steam inside the oven.
What is the difference between Cantonese roast duck and Peking duck?
Peking duck is particularly focused on producing extremely crispy skin, traditionally served with pancakes and accompaniments. Cantonese roast duck is more heavily seasoned and normally served with the meat and crispy skin chopped together.
Do you need to dry duck before roasting?
For Cantonese-style roast duck, drying is highly recommended. Removing moisture from the surface helps produce the characteristic crisp skin during roasting.
What seasoning is used for Cantonese roast duck?
Recipes vary, but common flavours include Chinese five spice, star anise, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and Shaoxing wine.
What size duck is suitable for Chinese roast duck?
Many professional kitchens favour larger whole ducks that provide a good meat yield while roasting consistently. Lung Wah Chong supplies BR Tomassen ducks in approximately 2.6–2.8kg sizes for professional foodservice customers.
