PEKING DUCK
2 min readServes 6–8.
Preparation & cooking time: 2 hours & drying time.
Strictly speaking, it is almost impossible to reproduce this dish at home in the West for two reasons. Firstly, the genuine article is a specially reared species of duck which is brought by several stages of force-feeding and care to exactly the right degree of plumpness and tenderness before it is prepared for the oven. Secondly, you are supposed to use a specially constructed kiln-like oven with Chinese date tree as fuel. But all is not lost, it is quite possible to prepare and cook this dish at home by following this recipe.
One 2.3–2.5kg (5–5½lb) oven-ready duckling
2 tablespoons maltose or honey, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
For serving:
20–24 duck pancakes (see page 106)
100ml (4fl oz) duck sauce (see page 107) or plum sauce
6–8 spring onions, thinly shredded
½ cucumber, thinly shredded
Clean the duck well, remove the wing tips and any feather stubs, as well as the lumps of fat from inside the vent.
Plunge the duck into a pot of boiling water for 2–3 minutes. Remove and drain, dry thoroughly with kitchen paper. While the skin is still warm, brush the duck all over with the maltose or honey and water solution, then hang it up to dry in a cool and airy place for at least 4–5 hours or overnight.
To cook: place the duck, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting tin, and cook in an oven preheated to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 1½–1¾ hours, without basting or turning.
To serve: peel off the crispy duck skin in small slices by using a sharp carving knife, then carve the meat into thin strips. Arrange the skin and meat on separate serving plates.
To eat: spread about 1 teaspoon of the sauce in the middle of a pancake, add a few strips of spring onions and cucumber, then top with 2–3 slices each of duck skin and meat. Roll up the pancake, turn up the bottom edge to prevent the contents from falling out. Eat with fingers.
Traditionally, the carcass of the duck is made into a delicious soup at the end of the meal.
