Peking duck

Peking duck is a special food from Beijing.

It has very thin and crispy skin. Cooks roast the duck in a big oven. Some use a closed oven made of brick. Others hang the duck over an open fire.

This makes the skin very crunchy. You can eat it with soft pancakes. People add cucumber and green onions too.

It is a very famous dish to try!

Peking duck is a famous dish from Beijing.

It has been made for many years. It was even served to emperors in the past. People love it for its thin, crispy skin.

There are two main ways to cook it. One way uses a closed oven made of brick. This is called the mènlú style.

This method makes the meat juicy. The other way uses a hung oven. In this style, ducks hang on hooks over an open fire. This makes the skin very crunchy.

A cook often slices the duck in front of you. The meal happens in stages. First, you eat the crispy skin with sugar. Next, you wrap meat in soft pancakes. You can add cucumber, green onion, and sweet bean sauce. People also use the leftover bones to make soup.

Many famous restaurants make this dish. Bianyifang is very old. It uses the closed oven style. Quanjude is also a very famous name. It uses the hung oven style. This dish is a big part of Chinese food culture.

Peking duck is a famous dish from Beijing, China.

It is loved for its thin and very crispy skin. Many people consider it a top example of gourmet Chinese food. For many visitors and leaders, eating this dish is a special experience.

It is often served in stages to show off different parts. First, the crunchy skin is eaten with sugar or sweet bean sauce. Then, the meat is wrapped in soft, steamed pancakes. You can add cucumber and spring onion to your wrap.

Making this dish takes a lot of careful work.

First, air is pumped under the skin to separate it from the fat. The duck is blanched in hot water and then hung up to dry. Next, it is glazed with syrup, honey, or soy sauce. The duck must stand in a cool place for 24 hours. This helps the skin become shiny and brown when it is roasted. The meat stays juicy because of how the fat is handled.

This tradition has a very long history in China.

People have roasted ducks since the Southern and Northern dynasties. A cook named Hu Sihui wrote about a similar dish in 1330. The dish became a main part of imperial court menus during the Ming dynasty. The first special restaurant, Bianyifang, opened in Beijing in 1416. Later, in 1864, the famous Quanjude restaurant was also established. These old brands are now household names in China.

There are two main ways to roast the duck.

The closed-oven style, or mènlú, uses a brick oven. This oven is heated with sorghum straw. The meat cooks slowly using the heat inside the oven. The other way is the open-oven style. This method uses a hung oven with an open fire. Chefs use wood from peach or pear trees to cook the ducks. They hang the ducks on hooks above the flames. A chef might even use a pole to move the ducks closer to the heat.

Peking duck has even helped with world history.

In 1971, American official Henry Kissinger ate the dish in Beijing. It became his favorite meal during a secret visit. This meeting helped lead to President Richard Nixon visiting China in 1972. Many other leaders, like Fidel Castro, have enjoyed it too. Even today, it remains a symbol of Chinese culture. It connects the ancient imperial past to the modern world.

Peking duck is a celebrated dish from Beijing, China. It is a masterpiece of Chinese gourmet cuisine. The dish is famous for its thin, crispy skin.

Many people view it as a vital cultural experience. It represents a long tradition of skill and culinary art. This dish has become a symbol of China for many international visitors.

The preparation of the duck is a precise, multi-step process. First, the duck is plucked, eviscerated, and rinsed.

A cook pumps air under the skin through the neck cavity. This step separates the skin from the underlying fat. Next, the duck is blanched in boiling water for two to three minutes. It is then hung up to dry to tighten the skin.

The duck is glazed with syrup, honey, and soy sauce. It also receives a marinade of five-spice powder and maltose. Finally, the duck stands for 24 hours in a cool, dry place before roasting.

There are two primary roasting methods used by specialists. The first is the closed-oven style, known as mènlú.

This method is used by the famous Bianyifang restaurant. The brick oven is preheated using Gaoliang sorghum straw. The duck cooks via heat convection once the fire dies down. This makes the meat juicy and tender. The second method is the open-oven style, or gāguǒ.

This was developed in imperial kitchens during the Qing dynasty. Chefs hang ducks on hooks above a fire of peach or pear wood. They may use a pole to move ducks closer to the heat. This method creates a very crispy skin as the fat melts.

History shows that duck roasting in China dates back to the Southern and Northern dynasties. The dish was known as "shāo yāzi" in the 1330 manual by Hu Sihui. He was an inspector of the imperial kitchen during the Yuan dynasty. By the Ming dynasty, it was a staple on imperial court menus. The restaurant Bianyifang opened in Beijing in 1416. Later, the Quanjude restaurant was established in 1864. Yang Quanren, the founder of Quanjude, developed the hung oven technique.

Modern production involves different types of ducks. Traditionally, ducks were raised in Nanjing and transported by barge. Today, many farmers use newer broiler-type breeds. These breeds mature in 40 days and reach a specific weight without force-feeding. As of 2021, at least 95% of ducks in Beijing do not require force-feeding. This change helps reduce animal suffering and saves human labor. One laborer can raise 5,000 non-force-fed ducks compared to only 500 force-fed ones. Two main breeds exist: a fatty breed for traditional taste and a leaner breed for younger palates.

Serving the duck is a ritual performed in three distinct stages.

First, the chef carves the duck in front of the diners. The crispy skin is served first with sugar or sweet bean sauce. Second, the meat is served with steamed pancakes, cucumber, and spring onion. Diners wrap the ingredients into the pancakes by hand or with chopsticks.

Third, the remaining carcass, or yājià, is served. It can be made into a broth with tofu and cabbage. It can also be stir-fried with sweet bean sauce or salt and pepper.

Peking duck has played a role in significant diplomatic history. In July 1971, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visited Beijing. He met Premier Zhou Enlai at the Great Hall of the People. After a morning of talks, the delegation ate Peking duck for lunch. It became Kissinger's favorite meal. This visit helped lead to President Richard Nixon's 1972 trip to China. Many other leaders, such as Fidel Castro and Helmut Kohl, have also enjoyed the dish.