P
Chinese · Guangdong Province
Cantonese Roast Goose (Shao E) — Hong Kong Institution
Cantonese roast goose is considered technically superior to Peking duck by many aficionados — the fat layer of a goose produces even more extraordinary lacquered skin. Whole goose is marinated internally with five spice, soy, sugar, and wine, the cavity sealed, then the bird is air-dried overnight before roasting over a live fire. The Shek Kei Mei variant from the New Territories is the canonical standard.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1 (about 3.5–4 kg)
whole goose
oven-ready, excess fat trimmed from cavity
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the internal marinade
2 tbsp
soy sauce
1 tbsp
sugar
Your own market
1 tbsp
Shaoxing rice wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
five-spice powder
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the external glaze
2 tbsp
maltose
loosened in a little warm water
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tbsp
rice vinegar
Your own market
To serve
suan mei jiang (preserved plum sauce)
tart variety; served as mandatory condiment
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
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.
From the canon — Five-spice powder (wu xiang fen) is the most important Chinese spice blend — typically: star anise, Sichuan pepper, Chinese cinnamon (cassia), cloves, and fe… Five-Spice Powder — The Blend and Its Logic (五香粉) →
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.
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.
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.
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.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — A Shek Kei Mei–strain goose from the New Territories, air-dried to order and roasted over live fire by a chun tim specialist — the Michelin-starred Kam's Roast Goose benchmark of shatteringly thin skin over molten fat.
02
Estate — A free-range, properly fattened goose (3.5–4 kg) from a named farm, home-roasted with strict overnight drying and the maltose-vinegar glaze applied in two coats.
03
Market — A quality supermarket oven-ready goose, air-dried the full 8 hours minimum; the glaze and five-spice marinade will still produce respectable lacquered skin.
04
House — Any whole goose dried as long as circumstances permit; skin quality will be uneven but the internal marinade will carry the flavour of the dish.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Skin after air-drying feels parchment-dry and taut — no tackiness or give under the finger
◇Sight. Skin colour at 200 °C roast is an even, deepening amber before the final blast
◇Sight. After the 220 °C finish the skin is a uniform deep mahogany lacquer with no pale or moist patches
◇Sound. A light tap on the breast produces a hollow sound, indicating the fat has rendered fully beneath the set skin
◇Touch. After 15 minutes' rest the skin remains rigid and dry to the finger — not soft or yielding
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies in the air-drying: skin that retains any moisture will steam in the oven rather than crisp, and no temperature adjustment can undo it.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Agave spirit
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year