Peking Duck
- For the breed of duck, see Pekin duck.
Peking Duck, or more accurately, Peking Roast Duck (Simplified Chinese: 北京烤鸭; Traditional Chinese: 北京烤鴨; pinyin: Běijīng kǎo yā), is a famous duck dish from northeastern China. The name comes from the traditional, pre-Hanyu Pinyin anglicization of the name of Beijing. It is also known as Beijing Duck or Beijing Roast Duck.
The dish is mostly prized for the thin, crispy skin with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat. Most Chinese restaurants will make two dishes out of one duck -- one with thin slices of skin with a small layer of fat, or none at all, underneath, and another one with the duck meat. The latter is often a stir-fry dish. The leftover duck, consist of bones, is often then given to patrons so that it can be later boiled into soup. However, many modern restaurants will also make them into a broth for the customers.
The history of the Peking Duck can be traced as far back as the Yuan Dynasty (1206 - 1368). By the time of the early 15th century it had become one of the favorite dishes of the imperial Ming family.
The two most famous restaurants in Beijing which serve this specialty are Quanjude and Bianyifang (便宜坊). Both establishments have a history of well over a hundred years and have an extensive network of chain stores.
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Preparation
Peking Duck requires a duck with its head still attached. First, it is inflated with a pump or other object, separating the skin from the body (this was done by blowing through a straw by someone with a strong lung in ancient times). Then the skin is scalded with boiling water to make it drier and tauter and brushed with molasses so that it acquires a dark, rich color with the slight aroma of caramel during the subsequent cooking process. After drying for half a day, the duck is hung by its neck in a hot oven where it is roasted for an hour or more, during which time the copious fat of the duck melts off and the skin becomes crispy. Because a large oven is required, as well as other complicated preparation techniques, Peking Duck is not usually prepared at home; it is customarily eaten in a restaurant or bought already prepared at shops or restaurants and taken home to eat.
In China, a special breed of duck is reared in the North exclusively for this dish. The ducks are kept in individual cages and force‑fed so that they grow plump and without muscle. Peking duck is thus also called Peking stuffed duck (Simplified Chinese: 北京填鸭; Traditional Chinese: 北京填鴨; pinyin: běijīng tián yā) because of that.
In the United States, some health-conscious Americans find the excessive fat under the duck skin unpalatable. The chefs there find creative ways to either remove the fat during the skin separation step or cut strategically placed holes near the bottom of the duck to let the grease drip away during cooking. Usually regular ducks are used for their lesser fat content. Thus, arguably, the Peking Duck served in the US is often not authentic due to Western consumer preferences.
Serving
A traditional way of serving Peking Duck is a three course meal: first course is served with the crispy skin and steamed mu-shi flour pancakes, slivered spring onions (U.S.:scallions) and Tian Mian Jiang sauce. (other restaurants will use mantou, a type of Chinese fluffy steamed bun.) One places pieces of chopped duck skin on a pancake, adds a bit of hoisin sauce, plum sauce, and spring onion. The mixture is rolled up and eaten.
The remaining duck meat is usually chopped up, stir-fried, and eaten wrapped in fresh lettuce, while the bones are used for broth.
Crispy aromatic duck
Crispy aromatic duck is a variant of Peking duck that originated in the Chinese community in the United Kingdom. In this version, the duck is rubbed with aromatic spices such as five-spice powder and then deep fried instead of roasted. This enables the meat to be flaked off the bone and shredded easily, a process which is usually performed in front of the patrons of the restaurant. This deep-fried shredded meat is then served with pancakes and the usual condiments.
Peking duck-style education
In China and other Asian nations, students often memorize books for public examinations without understanding the contents. Due to its similarity in stuffing a duck for Peking Duck, it is called "Peking duck-style education".
Varients
A form of 'Nanjing duck' (南京烤鴨) was made around Ming dynasty, where water is stuffed inside the duck during roasting.[1]
See also
External links
Categories
Chinese cuisine | Poultry