Wor Shu Duck, also called Mandarin Pressed Duck or Almond Pressed Duck, was a popular Cantonese dish in Chinese and Polynesian-themed restaurants in the United States in the 1950s-1980s (right alongside the famous Pupu Platter).  Known as wor shu opp in Cantonese, this dish is now seldom seen on menus.We’ve gotten countless requests for a recipe over the years.I watched my father prepare many orders of Wor Shu Duck back in the day, and our recipe is finally here!  What is Wor Shu Duck? Wor Shu Duck consists of crispy, de-boned duck pieces served over a savory mix of stir-fried vegetables, often topped with sliced or crushed almonds.

It starts with a whole duck, which you braise in a master sauce.Then you de-bone it, press and chill it, bread it, deep-fry (or pan-fry to use less oil), and slice into bite-size pieces.  It is a fairly labor-intensive dish, which is probably why it has faded more quickly from restaurant menus than other retro dishes like egg foo young, Americanized chow mein, and chop suey.  There are many theories on the source of the dish, but the reality is that nobody really knows the actual origins of wor shu duck, or the chicken version (popular in the Midwest), wor shu gai.  That said, we assume that it was developed by Cantonese cooks, since early Chinese chefs and restaurants in the U.S.were virtually all from Canton (Guangdong Province).  My Experience with Wor Shu Duck My father regularly prepared Wor Shu

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