Peking Duck

Peking Duck, or Peking Roast Duck is a famous duck dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era, and is now considered one of China’s national foods.

The dish is prized for the thin, crisp skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook. Ducks bred specially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and seasoned before being roasted in a closed or hung oven. The meat is eaten with pancakes, spring onions, and hoisin sauce or sweet bean sauce. The two most notable restaurants in Beijing which serve this delicacy are Quanjude and Bianyifang, two centuries-old establishments which have become household names.

Duck has been roasted in China since the Southern and Northern Dynasties. A variation of roast duck was prepared for the Emperor of China in the Yuan Dynasty. The dish, originally named “Shaoyazi”, was mentioned in the Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages manual in 1330 by Hu Sihui an inspector of the imperial kitchen. The Peking Roast Duck that came to be associated with the term was fully developed during the later Ming Dynasty, and by then, Peking Duck was one of the main dishes on imperial court menus. The first restaurant specialising in Peking Duck, Bianyifang, was established in the Xianyukou, Qianmen area of Beijing in 1416.
By the Qianlong Period (1736–1796) of the Qing Dynasty, the popularity of Peking Duck spread to the upper classes, inspiring poetry from poets and scholars who enjoyed the dish. For instance, one of the verses ofDuan Zhu Zhi Ci, a collection of Beijing poems was, “Fill your plates with roast duck and suckling pig” In 1864, the Quanjude restaurant was established in Beijing. Yang Quanren the founder of Quanjude, developed the hung oven to roast ducks. With its innovations and efficient management, the restaurant became well known in China, introducing the Peking Duck to the rest of the world.

By the mid-20th century, Peking Duck had become a national symbol of China, favored by tourists and diplomats alike. For example, Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State of the United States, met Premier Zhou Enlai in the Great Hall of the People on July 10, during his first visit to China. After a round of inconclusive talks in the morning, the delegation was served Peking Duck for lunch, which became Kissinger’s favourite. The Americans and Chinese issued a joint statement the following day, inviting President Richard Nixon to visit China in 1972. Peking Duck was hence considered one of the factors behind the rapprochement of the United States to China in the 1970s. Following Zhou’s death in 1976, Kissinger paid another visit to Beijing to savour Peking Duck. Peking Duck, at the Quanjude in particular, has also been a favourite dish for various political leaders ranging from Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl.

PEKING DUCK with panckes

We used the more fleshy Muscovy duck in this recipe.

2kg duck
1/4 cup (60ml) honey, warmed
1 small (160g) Lebanese cucumber
8 green shallots

PANCAKES
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup (180mI) boiling water

SAUCE
1/3 cup (80ml) hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chicken stock
1 tablespoon plum sauce

1. Wash duck, drain well. Tie string around neck of duck. Lower duck into large pan of boiling water for 20 seconds, remove from pan, drain well; pat dry with absorbent paper. Tie string to a refrigerator shelf and suspend duck, uncovered, over drip tray overnight. Remove duck from refrigerator, suspend duck in front of cold air from an electric fan about 2 hours or until skin is dry to the touch.

2. Tuck wings under duck. Place duck breast side up on wire rack in large baking dish, brush entire duck evenly with honey. Bake, uncovered, in moderate oven 30 minutes, turn duck, reduce heat to slow, bake, uncovered, about 1 hour or until tender.

5. Place duck on chopping board, remove skin, place skin in single layer on wire rack over oven tray. Bake skin, uncovered, in moderate oven about 10 minutes or until crisp and browned; slice skin. Slice duck meat. Remove cucumber seeds. Cut cucumber and shallots into thin 8cm strips. To serve, top warm pancakes with duck meat, crisp skin, cucumber, shallots and sauce, roll, eat with fingers.

4. Pancakes: Sift flour and sugar into large bowl, add water, stir quickly with wooden spoon until ingredients cling together. Knead dough on floured surface about 10 minutes or until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, stand 30 minutes at room temperature.

5. Divide dough into 16 pieces. Roll a piece into a 16cm round. Heat small heavy-based frying pan, dry-fry pancake about 10 seconds on each side or until very lightly browned. Repeat with remaining dough. Wrap cooked pancakes in foil as they are cooked to prevent drying out. lf necessary, pancakes can be reheated in a bamboo steamer or microwave oven. Line steamer with a cloth, place pancakes in single layer on cloth, steam over simmering water about 2 minutes or until pancakes are heated through.

Sauce: Combine all ingredients in small bowl, mix well.
Serves 4.

Chinese with Bill & Sheila

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