Peking Duck

For the breed of duck, see Pekin duck.

Peking Duck
Peking Duck sliced and prepared
Traditional Chinese	北京烤鴨
Simplified Chinese	北京烤鸭
Literal meaning	Beijing Roast Duck
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Běijīng kǎo yā Min - Hokkien POJ Pak-kian kho ah Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping bak1 ging1 haau1 aap3

Peking Duck, or Peking Roast Duck is a famous duck dish from Beijing^[1] 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.

History

A Peking Duck being roasted by a hung oven circa 1933.

Duck has been roasted in China since the Southern and Northern Dynasties.^[2] A variation of roast duck was prepared for the Emperor of China in the Yuan Dynasty. The dish, originally named "Shaoyazi" (燒鴨子), was mentioned in the Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages (飲膳正要) manual in 1330 by Hu Sihui (忽思慧), an inspector of the imperial kitchen.^[3][4] The Peking Roast Duck that came to be associated with the term was fully developed during the later Ming Dynasty,^[2][5][6] and by then, Peking Duck was one of the main dishes on imperial court menus.^[7] The first restaurant specialising in Peking Duck, Bianyifang, was established in the Xianyukou, Qianmen area of Beijing in 1416.^[8]

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 of Duan Zhu Zhi Ci, a collection of Beijing poems was, "Fill your plates with roast duck and suckling pig".^[9] In 1864, the Quanjude (全聚德) restaurant was established in Beijing. Yang Quanren (楊全仁), 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.^[10]

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 savor Peking Duck.^[11][12] Peking Duck, at the Quanjude in particular, has also been a favorite dish for various political leaders ranging from Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl.^[13][14]

Preparation

A Pekin duck.

Raising the duck

The ducks used to prepare Peking Duck originated in Nanjing. They were small, had black feathers, and lived in the canals around the city linking major waterways. With the relocation of the Chinese capital to Beijing, supply barge traffic increased in the area. Often these barges would spill grain into the canals, providing food for the ducks. By the Five Dynasties, the new species of duck had been domesticated by Chinese farmers.^[15] Nowadays, Peking Duck is prepared from the Pekin duck (Anas platyrhynchos domestica).^[16] Newborn ducks are raised in a free range environment for the first 45 days of their lives, and force fed 4 times a day for the next 15–20 days, resulting in ducks that weigh 5–7 kg (11–15 lbs).^[17] The force feeding of the ducks led to an alternate name for the dish, Peking Stuffed Duck (simplified Chinese: 北京填鸭; traditional Chinese: 北京填鴨; pinyin: běijīng tián yā).^[18]

Cooking

A Peking Duck after having been dried

Fattened ducks are slaughtered, plucked, eviscerated and rinsed thoroughly with water.^[10] Air is pumped under the skin through the neck cavity to separate the skin from the fat.^[19] The duck is then soaked in boiling water for a short while before it is hung up to dry.^[20] While it is hung, the duck is glazed with a layer of maltose syrup, and the innards are rinsed once more with water. Having been left to stand for 24 hours,^[21] the duck is roasted in an oven until it turns shiny brown.^[22]

Peking Duck is traditionally roasted in either a closed oven or hung oven. The closed oven is built of brick and fitted with metal griddles (Chinese: 箅子; pinyin: bì zi). The oven is preheated by burning Gaoliang wood (Chinese: 秫秸; pinyin: shú jiē) at the base. The duck is placed in the oven immediately after the fire burns out, allowing the meat to be slowly cooked through the convection of heat within the oven.^[10]

The hung oven was developed in the imperial kitchens during the Qing Dynasty and adopted by the Quanjude restaurant chain. It is designed to roast up to 20 ducks at the same time with an open fire fuelled by hardwood from peach or pear trees.^[10][21] The ducks are hung on hooks above the fire and roasted at a temperature of 270 °C (525 °F) for 30–40 minutes. While the ducks are cooking, the chef may use a pole to dangle each duck closer to the fire for 30 second intervals.^[21] Almost every part of a duck can be cooked. The Quanjude Restaurant even served their customers the "All Duck Banquet" in which they cooked the bones of ducks with vegetables.

Besides the traditional methods to prepare Peking Duck, recipes have been compiled by chefs around the world to produce the dish at home.^[19][20]

Serving

A Quanjude chef slicing roasted Peking Duck

An unprepared Peking Duck with pancakes, spring onions and sweet bean sauce

The cooked Peking Duck is traditionally carved in front of the diners and served in three stages. First, the skin is served dipped in sugar and garlic sauce. The meat is then served with steamed pancakes (simplified Chinese: 春饼; traditional Chinese: 春餅; pinyin: chūn bǐng), spring onions and sweet bean sauce. Several vegetable dishes are provided to accompany the meat, typically cucumber sticks. The diners spread sauce, and optionally sugar, over the pancake. The pancake is wrapped around the meat with the vegetables and eaten by hand. The remaining fat, meat and bones may be made into a broth, served as is, or the meat chopped up and stir fried with sweet bean sauce. Otherwise, they are packed up to be taken home by the customers.^[23][24][25]

Reheating

Whole Peking Ducks can be ordered as takeaways. The ducks can be reheated at home with an oven, grill or boiling oil. When an oven is used, the duck is heated at a temperature of 150 °C (300 °F) for 20 minutes, and then at 160 °C (325 °F) for another 10 minutes. The grilling method involves filling the duck with boiling water before placing it on a griddle, 70 cm (28 in) above the cooking fire. The boiling water is replaced every 3–4 minutes until the duck's skin is piping hot. To reheat the Peking Duck with oil, the duck is sliced into thin pieces and placed in a strainer held over a wok of boiling oil. The duck is then rinsed several times with the oil.^[25]

Notable restaurants

A number of restaurants in Beijing specialise in Peking Duck. Examples include Quanjude, Bianyifang, Changan Yihao (長安一號), Beijing Xiaowangfu (北京小王府) and Dadong Tuanjiehu Kaoyadian (大董團結湖烤鴨店).^[26] Some restaurants, in particular Quanjude and Bianyifang, have long histories of serving high quality duck that they are now household names, or laozihao (老字號), literally "old brand name".^[27] In addition, Quanjude has received worldwide recognition, having been named a China Renowned Trademark in 1999.^[28]

Crispy aromatic duck

Crispy aromatic duck (香酥鴨 xiang1 su1 ya1) is a similar dish to Peking duck. It is very popular in the United Kingdom,^[29] where it was created in the latter half of the twentieth century.^[30][31][32]

The duck is first marinated with spices, then steamed until tender, and finally deep fried until crispy.^[33] The meat has less fat and is drier and crispier compared to that of Peking Duck.^[34]

Gallery

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See also

• Zhangcha duck
• Roast goose
• Chinese cuisine
• Mandarin cuisine
• Pekin duck, which is the animal used for Peking Duck, and, which is also served as "Long Island duck" in the USA

References

1. ^ Peking Duck, Chinatown Connection 2005. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
2. ^ ^{a b} "品味北京五大百年名吃 (500 year old delicacies of Beijing)" (in Traditional Chinese). Xingchen Food Network. China News Information Centre. 2006-09-22. http://big5.china.com.cn/city/txt/2006-09/22/content_7589255.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
3. ^ "北京特產 (Specialties of Beijing)" (in Traditional Chinese). Xinhua. 2004-04-08. http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/travel/2004-04/08/content_1407734.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
4. ^ "Slicing through the secrets of Peking Duck". Adelaide Review. 2005. http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:xHOa4wENrs4J:www.adelaidereview.com.au/_archives.php%3Fsubaction%3Dshowfull%26id%3D1113527786%26archive%3D1114740592%26start_from%3D%26ucat%3D%26+%22Peking+Duck%22+%2Bhistory&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=hk. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
5. ^ "Peking duck". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/448985/Peking-duck. 
6. ^ "A Cultural Classic: Peking Duck". Globe Trekker. http://www.pilotguides.com/destination_guide/asia/china/peking_duck.php. 
7. ^ "History of the Peking Duck". SilkRoad. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20070825133126/http://www.silkroadcn.com/beijing/beijingduck.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
8. ^ Zhang, Jackie (2007-06-29). "New locations for Qianmen’s traditional restaurants". Beijing Today. http://english.qianlong.com/article.jsp?oid=21705469. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
9. ^ "Peking Duck Information". China Internet Information Center. http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/beijing/31300.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d} "京城烤鴨及其製法 (Peking Duck and how to prepare it)" (in Traditional Chinese). Epoch Times. 2006-02-13. http://hk.epochtimes.com/6/2/14/18000.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-10. 
11. ^ "Premier Zhou's roast duck diplomacy (周总理的烤鸭外交)" (in Simplified Chinese). Quanjude. http://www.quanjude.com.cn/historystory_info.php?auto_id=139. Retrieved 2007-09-14. 
12. ^ "Interview with Ambassador Winston Lord". George Washington University. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/coldwar/interviews/episode-15/lord2.html. Retrieved 2007-09-14. 
13. ^ "Beijing gets its ducks in a row for heavenly roast". Reuters. 2008-08-05. http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/idUSSP3159020080805. 
14. ^ "Torch finally heads for Beijing". London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/7701341. ^{[dead link]}
15. ^ Davidson, Alan (1999). Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 593. 
16. ^ Li, Ping-Wei; Wei Liu, Gen-Pei Li, Rong-Huan Zhu, Da-Cheng Wang (2001). "Overexpression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase from Peking duck". Acta Crystallographica 57 (11): 1646–1649. doi:10.1107/S0907444901011106. 
17. ^ "The origins of Chinese Roast Duck (访古探幽：中国烤鸭的由来)" (in Simplified Chinese). Sing Tao. 2005-12-31. http://www.singtaonet.com/health_drinking/heal_sp/t20051231_108968.html. Retrieved 2007-09-12. 
18. ^ "Recipe for Peking Stuffed Duck" (in Simplified Chinese). 美食菜系. http://www.mypcera.com/meishi/new/dish/beijing/53057.html. Retrieved 2007-09-12. 
19. ^ ^{a b} Bryant, Simon. "Peking Duck 101". ABC Adelaide. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20071206124404/http://www.abc.net.au/adelaide/stories/s1720061.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-12. 
20. ^ ^{a b} "Preparing a Pekin Duck". Notes from a Devon Kitchen. 1998-03-02. http://www.quaypress.com/winefood/devonkitchen/duck.html. Retrieved 2007-09-12. 
21. ^ ^{a b c} "Quanjude Roast Duck". Golden Lawyer. Archived from the original on 2007-05-31. http://web.archive.org/web/20070531123447/http://www.goldenlawyer.com/i/food/rostduck.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-14. 
22. ^ "Beijing cuisine: Peking Duck Recipe (北京菜: 北京烤鴨)" (in Traditional Chinese). Social Work Hong Kong. 2001-04-27. http://www.socialwork.com.hk/food/chinese/beijing/beijing2-6.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-12. 
23. ^ "The Evolution of Peking Duck". CBS. 2006-09-24. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/24/sunday/main2036347.shtml. Retrieved 2007-09-17. 
24. ^ Liang, Shih-Chiu. "Roast duck" (烧鸭). in Jiang H. (ed.) Liang Shiqiu's Selected Proses (2000). Hangzhou:Zhejiang Literary Press. ISBN 7-5339-0562-9
25. ^ ^{a b} "How to reheat a takeaway Peking Duck(外卖烤鸭如何加热)". Hainan News Network. Xinhua. 2005-04-27. http://news.xinhuanet.com/food/2005-04/27/content_2882835.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-18. 
26. ^ "Top 5 places to dine on Peking Duck (吃北京烤鸭最HIGH的5大去处)" (in Simplified Chinese). Northern Net. Xinhua. 2004-08-25. http://news.xinhuanet.com/food/2004-08/25/content_1879693.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-04. 
27. ^ Chen, Nan (2006-04-14). "Old Name, New Experience". Beijing This Month. http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/business/2006-04/branding/bianyifang. Retrieved 2007-10-04. 
28. ^ "Quanjude puts duck on the stock-market menu". Shanghai Daily. Sina. 2007-09-27. http://english.sina.com/business/1/2007/0927/126775.html. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
29. ^ "Savour the success from aromatic". Cherry Valley. http://www.cherryvalley.co.uk/our-company/media-centre/press-releases/savour-the-success-from-aromatic. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
30. ^ "Recipe Ideas For Chinese Pancakes". Ming Foods. http://www.mingfoods.co.uk/recipes.html. Retrieved 2011-10-01. 
31. ^ "Crispy Aromatic Duck". Eat Noodles. http://eatlovenoodles.blogspot.com/2011/02/crispy-aromatic-duck.html. Retrieved 2011-10-01. 
32. ^ "Crispy Aromatic Duck And Other British Inventions". DimSum. http://www.dimsum.co.uk/food/crispy-aromatic-duck-and-other-british-inventions.html. Retrieved 2011-10-01. 
33. ^ Hom, Ken. "Recipe for crispy aromatic duck". BBC. Archived from the original on 2007-09-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20070907120526/http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/crispyaromaticduck_4290.shtml. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
34. ^ "Peking Duck". Beijing Made Easy. http://www.beijingmadeeasy.com/chinese-food/peking-duck. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 

External links

• In Pictures: Making Peking Duck (BBC)