- 1 (4- to 5-pound) duck
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped onions
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon anise seed
- 1/3 cup plus 1½ teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 cups plus 2 teaspoons water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Wash the duck and remove excess fat from the body and neck cavities. Rub the inside lightly with salt.
- Combine the onion, celery, sugar, cinnamon, anise seed, 1/3 cup of the soy sauce and 1 cup of the water. Bring to the boiling point.
- Tie the duck's neck tightly with a string so the sauce will not seep out while cooking. Pour the hot sauce inside the duck. Sew up the vent tightly. Rub the outside of the duck with a little salt. Place breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes.
- Heat 1 cup water with the honey, vinegar, remaining soy sauce and 1 tablespoon salt. Brush this mixture over the skin of the bird. Continue to cook until the duck is done, about 1½ hours, basting at 20-minute intervals with this sauce.
- Remove the duck from the oven. Drain the sauce into a saucepan and thicken it with cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons water. Cook until slightly thickened. Serve separately as gravy.