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1
Combine soy sauce, sugar, Shaoxing wine, and five-spice powder into a marinade. Pour the mixture into the cavity of the goose. Using a trussing needle and kitchen twine, seal the cavity completely so no liquid can escape during roasting. Turn the bird to coat the interior evenly. The marinade must be fully enclosed — any leakage will prevent the internal fat-basting effect that makes the meat juicy.
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2
Mix the maltose and rice vinegar glaze and brush it over the entire exterior of the goose in an even coat. Place the bird, breast up, on a rack set over a tray. Refrigerate, uncovered, for a minimum of 8 hours. The skin is ready when it feels dry and taut to the touch — parchment-dry — with no tacky or moist patches. This step is where the dish lives or dies: insufficient drying causes the skin to steam rather than crisp, and no amount of heat will recover it.
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3
Heat the oven to 200 °C. Place the goose on a rack in a roasting tin, breast side up. Roast, rotating the bird at intervals to ensure even colour on all sides. Uneven heat produces patchy lacquering.
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4
Raise the oven temperature to 220 °C for the final 15 minutes. The skin is done when it is a deep mahogany-lacquer colour, visibly taut, and produces a hollow sound when tapped lightly — the sign that the fat beneath has rendered and the skin has set to its characteristic shatter.
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5
Remove the goose from the oven and rest it for 15 minutes before chopping. The skin will hold its crispness during this period; cutting immediately causes the juices to run and the skin to soften. Serve with tart suan mei jiang on the side.