China – Peking Duck

by Shehroz Gill

The second name of Peking duck is the “ROAST DUCK”. This is one of the most favorite and popular dishes that is made by a duck. This dish is most famous in BEIJING especially. The original name of this dish is shāo yāzi. The traditional meat of China is “DUCK”. Peking dish is also known as the NATIONAL SYMBOL OF CHINA. NANJING is the actual origin of the Peking duck.

You can make this dish at home but it is quite difficult because you have to separate the skin and meat of duck which is not easy to separate at home. Duck packaging is usually provided in three containers.

• hoisin sauce
• scallions
• wheat pancakes

There are different styles of making Peking duck but the most popular styles of cooking Peking duck are two

• Closed oven style
• Open oven style

You can separate the skin of the Duck from the meat by boiling it and then rub it to separate the skin. you have to clean it well and this is the only tough thing about making this because this is not so difficult but doing it clean is the difficult thing. You can serve it in different ways and it is all up to you.

ORIGIN & HISTORY

This dish is very popular in CHINA. It is called a “ROYAL DISH ” of CHINA. This is the National dish of China so it can be served to the Nation Foreign guests when they visit China. This tradition was started in the 1970s by  Premier Zhou Enlai.

The history of the Peking duck is varied from year to year. The very first time this Peking duck dish is originated in TANG DYNASTY, then they modify it with different recipes and made it tastier. Then this dish is modified by HU SIHUI in 1330 and makes it tastier by different recipes. The actual ROAST DUCK was introduced in 1368, they made it in a charcoal fire that made the dish very tasty and crispy. After this, roast duck spread in further cities and regions.

The first restaurant that is open in the popularity of Roast duck was Bianyifang and Quanjude, but the serving and method of cooking of both are different. But now the Peking duck is known as the National symbol of CHINA.

CLOSED OVEN STYLE

The closed oven style is for the actual recipe of Peking duck. The oven is preheated well so it can be good for cooking. the gaoliang sorghum straws in the oven are very good for heating it. So when it is heated then your dish is also going to be perfect. Closed style oven is very good at maintaining the heat of the oven.

OPEN STYLE OVEN

Open style oven is also very useful for making the Peking ducks. The most important thing about Open style oven is that you can make more than 20 ducks at the same time at the same place. The ducks are roasted by hanging at a very hot temperature. In this style, we can get the crispy layers of ducks because when we heated it, the fats are melted and return to the crisp.

CRISPY AROMATIC DUCK

Crispy aromatic duck is almost the same dish as Peking duck and most people thought that this is the same dish, but this dish is originated in the UK. The procedure of making crispy aromatic duck is different. In the beginning, we have to marinate the duck and then steamed it so it can be soft from the inside and then fry it so the outer layer should be crispy.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRISPY AROMATIC DUCK AND PEKING DUCK

Crispy aromatic duck is very crispy as compared to Peking duck because the fat in the crispy aromatic duck is totally removed and it returns the crispy outside layer. The Peking duck is not so crispy, its outer layer is crispy but not too much because the fat in it is not totally dried while frying. You can et this with different things.

There is a difference between crispy aromatic duck and Peking duck because of both of their crispiness.

SERVE WITH

• sweet bean sauce
• rice
• noodles
• chappati
• egg
• pan cakes
• salads
• chopsticks

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• ginger
• onion
• garlic
• salt
• black pepper
• red chili
• cumin seeds
• coriander powder
• nutmeg
• white pepper
• plum jam
• soy sauce
• honey
• sugar
• lemon juice
• vinegar

METHOD

• In the beginning, clean the duck meat.
• Separate the duck meat and its skin.
• boil it.
• Now add all the ingredients in the bowl.
• mix it well and marinate it.
• apply the mixture over the meat.
• leave it for 5 to 6 hours.
• now deep fry it.