Peking duck is a dish from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

(Peking) that has been prepared since the

Imperial era The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy 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 especially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and

seasoned Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Ho ...

before being roasted in a closed or hung oven. The meat is often eaten with spring onion,

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.sweet bean sauce with pancakes rolled around the fillings. Sometimes pickled radish is also inside. Crispy aromatic duck is a similar dish to Peking duck and is popular in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

History

Duck has been roasted in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

since the Southern and Northern Dynasties. A variation of roast duck was prepared for the

Emperor of China ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heav ...

in the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

. The dish, originally named "shāo yāzi" (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. The Peking roast duck that came to be associated with the term was fully developed during the later

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, and by then, Peking duck was one of the main dishes on imperial court menus. The first restaurant specialising in Peking duck, Bianyifang, was established in the Xianyukou, close to Qianmen of Beijing in 1416. By the Qianlong Period (1736–1796) of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, the popularity of Peking duck spread to the upper classes, inspiring poetry from poets and scholars who enjoyed the dish. For instance, one verse of ''Dūmén zhúzhīcí'', a Beijing local poem, was "Fill your plates with roast duck and suckling pig". "......两绍三烧要满壶，挂炉鸭子与烧猪......"——杨米人《都门竹枝词》 In 1864, the

Quanjude Quanjude (, ) is a Chinese restaurant known for its Peking roast duck and its longstanding culinary heritage since its establishment in 1864 in Beijing, China. Company profile and branches The restaurant chain sells over 2 million roast ducks ...

(全聚德) restaurant was established in Beijing. Yang Quanren (楊全仁), the founder of Quanjude, developed the hung oven to roast ducks. By the mid-20th century, Peking duck had become a national symbol of China, favored by tourists and diplomats alike. For example,

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

, the Secretary of State of the United States, met Premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...

in the

Great Hall of the People The Great Hall of the People is a state building located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese C ...

on 10 July 1971, during his first (secret) 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 Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

to visit China in 1972. Following Zhou's death in 1976, Kissinger paid another visit to Beijing to savor Peking duck. Peking duck, at the Quanjude in particular, has also been a favorite dish for various political leaders ranging from Cuban

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...

to former German chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

. Two notable restaurants in Beijing which serve this dish are

and Bianyifang, both centuries-old establishments which have become household names, each with their own style: Quanjude is known for using the hung oven roasting method, while Bianyifang uses the oldest technique of closed oven roasting."Now the owners of the 148-year-old restaurant plan to diversify into a multi-brand catering service provider that taps both high-end and mass markets.""Bianyifang is a brand name established in 1416. Its closed-oven Peking roast duck is famous."

Preparation

Raising the duck

The ducks used to prepare Peking duck originated in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

. They were large, had black feathers, and lived in the canals that linked the city to major waterways. With the relocation of the Chinese capital to Beijing, supply barge traffic increased in that area. Often these barges spilled water into side-canals, providing a habitat for the ducks. By the time of adoption of five-spice powder, a new breed of duck had been domesticated by Chinese farmers. Nowadays, Peking duck is prepared from the

American Pekin The Pekin or White Pekin is an American breed of domestic duck, raised primarily for meat. It derives from birds brought to the United States from China in the nineteenth century, and is now bred in many parts of the world. It is often known a ...

duck (''Anas platyrhynchos domestica''). Newborn ducks are raised in a

free range Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, ...

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). The force feeding of the ducks led to an alternate name for the animal, "Peking ''stuffed'' duck" ().

Cooking the duck

Fattened ducks are killed, plucked, eviscerated and rinsed thoroughly with water. Air is pumped under the skin through the neck cavity to separate the skin from the fat. The duck is then blanched in boiling hot water for two to three minutes before it is hung up to dry. This tightens the skin. While it is hung, the duck is glazed with a layer of runny syrup, and the inside is rinsed once more with water. A second layer of glaze/marinade of

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' As ...

, five-spice powder, and more maltose is then applied inside and out, and the duck is left to stand for 24 hours in a cool, dry place (or a refrigerator). It is then roasted in an oven until the skin turns shiny brown. Besides two traditional methods to prepare Peking duck, recipes have been compiled by chefs around the world to produce the dish at home.

Closed-oven style

Peking duck is originally roasted in a closed oven (), and Bianyifang is the restaurant that keeps this tradition. The closed oven is built of

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

and fitted with metal griddles (). The oven is preheated by burning

Gaoliang Commercial sorghum is the cultivation and commercial exploitation of species of grasses within the genus ''Sorghum'' (often '' S. bicolor'', sometimes '' Sorghum arundinaceum''). These plants are used for grain, fibre and fodder. The plants are c ...

sorghum straw () 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 Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the c ...

of heat within the oven. Controlling the fuel and the temperature is the main skill. In closed-oven style, duck meat is combined well with the fat under the skin, and therefore is juicy and tender.

Open-oven style

The open oven () was developed in the imperial kitchens during the Qing Dynasty, and adopted by the

restaurant chain. It is designed to roast up to 20 ducks at the same time with an open fire fueled by

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

from

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosacea ...

trees. The ducks are hung on hooks above the fire and roasted at a temperature of 270

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The d ...

(525 °F) for 30–40 minutes. While the ducks are roasting, the chef may use a pole to dangle each duck closer to the fire for 30-second intervals. In open-oven style, the fat is usually melted during the cooking process, so the skin is crispy.

Serving

Peking duck is traditionally carved in front of the guests and served in three stages. First, slices of duck skin are served with sugar and sweet bean sauce as a dip. Duck skin is best enjoyed hot and crisp to the bite. The meat is then served with steamed

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying w ...

s () and an assortment of vegetable dishes, typically julienned

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.spring onion. Traditionally, diners dip slices of duck into the condiments and wrap into the pancake with cucumber and any other ingredients. The wrap is then eaten by hand or with chopsticks. The carved duck (鸭架) – the remainder of the roast duck, with choice cuts removed – can be cooked in three ways. The traditional way is in a broth with ingredients such as Chinese cabbage and soft tofu. The carved duck can also be chopped and stir-fried in sweet bean sauce, or rapidly sautéed and served with salt and pepper (椒鹽). Otherwise, the carved duck is packed to be taken home by the customers.

Reheating

Whole Peking ducks can be ordered as takeaway. The ducks can be reheated at home with an oven or stove. 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 stove method involves submerging the duck in boiling water before placing it on a griddle 70 cm (28 in) above the cooking fire. The water is replaced every 3–4 minutes until the duck 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 hot oil. The duck is then rinsed several times with the oil.

Notable restaurants

A number of restaurants in Beijing specialise in Peking duck. Examples include

, Bianyifang, Changan Yihao (長安一號), Dayali, Beijing Xiaowangfu (北京小王府) and Dadong Kaoyadian (大董烤鴨店). Some restaurants, in particular Quanjude and Bianyifang, have long histories of serving high quality duck that they are now household names, or ''

Lao zihao China Time-honored Brand (Chinese: ''Zhonghua lao zihao'' 中华老字号 or simply ''lao zihao'' 老字号) is a title granted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China to Chinese enterprises that existed before 1956, sell p ...

'' (老字号), literally "old brand name". In addition, Quanjude has received worldwide recognition, having been named a China Renowned Trademark in 1999. Duck Chang's Restaurant, established in 1975 in Virginia, United States, was the first Chinese restaurant to prepare and serve Peking duck without a 24-hour advanced notice. In 2018, the James Beard Foundation awarded Sun Wah BBQ in Chicago, Illinois, with their America's Classics award, specifically citing Sun Wah's three-course "Beijing Duck Feast" in their announcement of the award.

Crispy aromatic duck

Crispy aromatic duck (香酥鴨 xiang su ya) is a similar dish to Peking duck. It is very popular in the

, where it was created in the latter half of the twentieth century. The duck is first marinated with spices, then steamed until tender, and finally deep fried until crispy. The meat has less fat and is drier and crispier compared to that of Peking duck. Crispy aromatic duck can also be seen in the United States, usually served with buns rather than pancakes. In Germany, some

Asian fusion Fusion cuisine is cuisine that combines elements of different culinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. They can occur naturally and become aspects of culturally relevant cuisines, or they can be part of ...

restaurants also serve crispy aromatic duck (''Knusprige Ente''), sometimes also labeled as Peking duck (''Peking-ente'', also ''Pekingente''). The duck is marinated with spices and deep-fried, served together with stir-fried vegetables (''Wokgemüse'') over fried noodles or with rice.

Gallery

File:全聚德烤房.JPG, File:Carving up our duck.jpg File:Gastronomia china-Pato a la pekinesa5251.JPG File:Peking Duck 4.jpg File:Peking Duck.jpg File:Accompagnement pour canard laqué.JPG File:Canard laqué pret a etre mangé.JPG File:Peking_Duck,_in_a_restaurant_in_Peking.jpg File:Peking Duck 2.jpg File:Canard laqué.JPG File:Peking duck by Mr Wabu in Beijing.jpg File:Peking duck wrap.jpg

Notes

References

External links

In Pictures: Making Peking Duck
(BBC) {{Beijing cuisine Beijing cuisine Duck dishes National dishes