This soup has more of a Chinese flavor, though it’s not an authentic recipe. It’s a great way to use up the last of a duck carcass if you’ve already roasted one. If you like Chinese five spices, give this a try! You can add your choice of vegetables and grains.

If you opt for noodles, as I did in the batch shown above, cook the noodles separately and add them to individual bowls rather than the soup pot. This will prevent the noodles from bloating up and getting soggy if you have leftovers. At least in my experience, leftover noodles soaked in soup won’t give you the same delicious texture as much as a bowlful of depression.

Be sure to budget your time with this recipe, as you’ll need to allow four hours to cook the broth in addition to preparing the ingredients and another 30 minutes for final cooking.

10 3-inch cinnamon sticks
8-10 pieces of star anise
1 pinch coriander seeds
1 pinch Szechuan red peppercorns
10 cloves garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. five spice powder
3 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1-2 carrots
1 onion
Duck carcass
Noodles, rice, or potatoes
Bok choi, leeks, or other greenery
Optional: avocado, cilantro, soft-boiled egg, etc. for serving

When I made this, we had a duck carcass that had already been roasted with a marinade of honey, soy sauce, and five spice powder. If your duck doesn’t have these flavors, you might add a bit more to the broth.

Toast the whole spices until they create a nice aroma. Cut up the carrots and onion into chunks along with some of the garlic. Toss these into a stock pot with the duck. You can add the skins and carrot tops as well, as these will add flavor and you’ll strain them out anyway.

Add the other ingredients and enough water to cover everything. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about four hours, stirring every 30-60 minutes and adding more water when necessary. You can taste it along the way and make flavor adjustments if you need more salt or other spices.

After 4 hours, take the stock pot off the heat and let it cool down from boiling just a little. Place a strainer into another large pot and pour the stock into it, catching the solids in the strainer.

Add in your choice of vegetables, the rest of the garlic, rice and/or potatoes, or whatever else you want in the soup and put it back on the heat on low. If you want noodles, boil them separately.

If you want boiled egg(s), add them to the boiling water for noodles and boil for 7-8 minutes for a soft boil, or 15 minutes for a harder boil. Remove them and place in a bowl of ice water to cool them, then peel and slice in half.

When the strained solids from the broth are cool enough, separate the duck meat from the bones, fat, and other stock detritus and toss it back in. Cook for another 30-40 minutes.

To serve, prepare individual bowls with noodles (if using), soup, half an egg (if using), and/or any other toppings you like.