{"id":2173,"date":"2016-02-14T17:34:16","date_gmt":"2016-02-14T22:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=2173"},"modified":"2022-07-23T11:11:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-23T15:11:54","slug":"faking-peking-duck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=2173","title":{"rendered":"Faking Peking Duck"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Duck<\/a><\/p>\n

Before we expose this canard canard (got that one out of the way early!), let\u2019s be clear that there is a significant difference between a proper rendering of Genuine Peking Duck and The Dish We\u2019re About to Make.<\/p>\n

Genuine Peking Duck is eminently shareable, incredibly impressive, and absolutely delicious.<\/em><\/p>\n

Step One: The Chinese tai see foo<\/em> (master chef) starts with a breed of duck (Pekin) that is specially raised for this dish. After plucking, eviscerating, and general cleaning, the duck is scalded in boiling water, dried, and air is pumped under the skin. Traditionally, the chef blows into a small hole that has been punched in the skin at the base of the neck, thus separating the skin from the meat (yes, essentially it\u2019s a duck balloon) and then it\u2019s tied off. This procedure ensures that the skin will be crispy because that\u2019s what this dish is all about.<\/em> The duck is then refrigerated for 24 hours. From there, it’s coated with a sugar-based glaze \u2013 maltose, honey, there is some latitude here \u2013 that coaxes the skin to brown during cooking and hung in front of a fan for as much as another 24 hours. Finally the duck is roasted. (And that\u2019s the short version that omits detail, although in no version do we omit the tail.) \u2013 End of Step One.<\/p>\n

The Dish We\u2019re About to Make is eminently shareable, incredibly impressive, and absolutely delicious.<\/em><\/p>\n

Step One: Go to your local Chinatown and purchase one of the Cantonese roast ducks you see hanging in the window. \u2013 End of Step One.<\/p>\n

So you see why we\u2019re Faking Peking Duck, right?<\/p>\n

Note: as soon as you ask for a roast duck, the fellow behind the counter will take one down and brandish his cleaver in order to chop it up (for that is what one does with Cantonese style roast duck). STOP HIM! Perhaps he speaks English, or if not you can resort to sign language, or if you\u2019re brave you can say \u201cMm sai jahm!\u201d<\/em> (Cantonese for \u201cDon\u2019t need to chop!\u201d) \u2013 but you want it whole.<\/p>\n

By the way, you might also see flattened ducks that look a little like Georgian Chicken Tabaka or like Daffy the time he didn\u2019t get out of the way of the steamroller Bugs was driving. Those are pipa (or pei-pa) ducks, so called because of their resemblance to the Chinese “banjo” of the same name. Delicious as those BBQ ducks are, you don\u2019t want one for this recipe. It also bears mention that the roast ducks have been more fully seasoned from within (think five spice, soy sauce, etc.) than true Peking Duck, so the flavor of the meat will be a little different.<\/p>\n

At this point, the recipes converge and we can delve into presentation and construction.<\/p>\n

In addition to the duck, you\u2019ll need:
\n\"Moo<\/a>\"Bao\"<\/a>\"Hoisin\"<\/a>
\n\u2022 Chinese pancakes (bing)<\/em> for steaming. Moo shu<\/em> wrappers are perfect; most likely they\u2019re available at a store near where you buy the duck. White Chinese buns (bao)<\/em> are great too.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hoisin sauce: I generally mix the hoisin with a little honey to tame its intensity and add a little sweetness. Same store.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Scallions: slice into long julienne strips (about 4 inches).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cucumber: remove the seeds (even from a seedless) and slice as you did the scallions.<\/p>\n

Preparation:
\n\"Whole<\/a>\"Duck<\/a>
\nRemove the skin from the duck. (I generally make one long slice down the middle, breast side up, and slip the skin off by sliding a finger between the meat and the skin, working my way around the duck. It\u2019s surprisingly easy, but don\u2019t worry if it doesn\u2019t come off in one piece; you\u2019re going to cut it up anyway.) Scrape away most of the fat adhering to the skin; it\u2019s fine to leave a little.<\/p>\n

Next, remove the meat from the carcass. You can either julienne it like the scallions and cucumbers (prettier) or just slice pieces against the grain (better from a culinary standpoint because the meat will be even more tender).<\/p>\n

Now as I said at the outset, this is a trick, albeit a delicious one. Remember that genuine Peking Duck is all about the crispy skin and what you\u2019ve got here is a succulent but flaccid roast duck. So here\u2019s my secret: put the skin, fatty side down, in a pan and heat in a 275\u00b0 oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven; the skin will be only a little crisper than when it started out, but stay with me. Place the warm skin between layers of paper towels and set a plate on top to keep it flat. When the skin is cool, use kitchen shears to cut into small pieces (about 3″ x 1″). As the pieces air dry, they\u2019ll get even crisper. Even better: instead of treating the skin to a dry sauna session in the oven, break out your deep fryer. Don\u2019t overdo it; like the oven treatment, the skin will crisp up after it cools.<\/p>\n

Steam the pancakes (or buns) according to package instructions. If you don\u2019t have a steamer you can improvise one by setting a covered colander over a pot of boiling water. Incidentally, although the duck meat is usually served at room temperature, I like to warm it up in the steamer at the same time the pancakes are steaming.<\/p>\n

Assembly:
\n\"Duck<\/a>\"Duck<\/a>\"Duck<\/a>
\nNow you\u2019re ready to commence Faking Peking Duck. Apply a little of the hoisin\/honey mixture to a steamed pancake. Add some meat, scallion, cucumber, and crispy skin. Roll up the pancake burrito style (fold up a flap from the bottom, then roll horizontally) and enjoy.<\/p>\n

Of course, if this were the real deal, the duck would be used for two additional courses, one where the meat is part of a stir fry, minced or perhaps in a noodle dish (it might not even make an appearance in the pancake), and one where the carcass has been used to make soup. You can do all that if you want to, but we\u2019re keeping this simple, right?<\/p>\n

And I recommend that you do keep it on a small scale; you may find that it\u2019s a perfect dish for two \u2013 eminently shareable, incredibly impressive, and absolutely delicious (see above). It doesn’t even have to be Valentine’s Day: if the setting is enchanting, and if you\u2019re dining with the right Very Special Person, this could be the beginning of a most romantic evening. Share it \u2013 along with a bottle of red \u2013 with someone you love.<\/p>\n

Trust me, this dish is decidedly seducktive.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before we expose this canard canard (got that one out of the way early!), let\u2019s be clear that there is a significant difference between a proper rendering of Genuine Peking Duck and The Dish We\u2019re About to Make. Genuine Peking … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,7],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-2173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recipes","category-stories","tag-chinese"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2173"}],"version-history":[{"count":57,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17785,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2173\/revisions\/17785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}