Dad's Kamo (Steamed Duck)
These are one of those legendary dishes that Dad makes that's so simple and clean and delicious, that you probably underestimate how much work goes into it to reach that purity of flavor.
In Japan, they sell a cut of duck called "Aigamo" (??), which is essentially a cross between duck and goose. The breast meat is robust, flavorful, and plentiful, unlike a regular skimpy duck you might find in Chinatown or in a US supermarket. The closes way to mimick this cut in the States is to make sure you get a breast filet of Muscovite duck.
Eat this duck cold, sliced, and with a bit of karashi (Japanese spicy brown mustard.)
Instructions:
Trim skin & fat on all sides of the breast into clean, workable cuts. Make sure to find and remove the hard tendon that might be running down the side of the breast.
With a not-too sharp knife, make vertical slits down the lengh of the back, spaced evenly across the whole backside. (Try not to pierce into the flesh)
In a non-stick frying pan, lay down the pieces on its backside and render out as much of the fat you can. As fat renders, soak up oil with paper towel as you go along to keep rendering at an even pace. When a decent amount has rendered off, and the skin is a nice golden brown, pull them from the pan and rinse off with cold water. Lay them into a heat-proof receptacle such as a baking pan, a metal Tupperware, etc.
Mix contents of marinade together and pour over duck in its receptacle. Place receptacle in a steamer for 12 min. or so, to a comfortable medium rare.
Pull receptacle out, and then take the duck pieces out into a bowl. With some solid metal skewers, pierce through the meat in whatever orderly fashion you can. The idea is to pierce the meat and let as much of the blood drain as possible. Change angles from time to time, and maybe even re-pierce some pieces. When a sufficient amount of blood is drawn, place the pieces back into the receptacle of marinade, and let soak in the fridge for up to 5~6 hours.
When ready to serve, take pieces out and slice to serve with some Japanese karashi mustard on the side.a
Reserve the marinade to use later - perhaps for a nice bowl of soba noodles?