a passion for peking

Foodie that I am, I’ve admitted here before that I’m not a huge fan of Asian food, most specifically Chinese. Thai is fine and I adore Japanese–in fact, sushi may be a contender for my last best meal. But, I generally find Chinese to be unsatisfying and, frankly, a bit boring. On those rare occasions when my family and I do sit down to Chinese chow, there is, however, one dish that always wins my heart: Peking duck. Ceremoniously carved table side, the luscious duck meat and crispy skin is layered in delicate pancakes, which are spread with a thick smear of sweet hoisin sauce and lined with slivers of cucumber and scallion. Deliciously decadent and complex in flavor, who would ever think you could make this at home yourself? Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s really not hard to do. Thanks to this wonderful recipe by Ching-He Huang, whose cooking show, Easy Chinese: San Francisco airs on the Cooking Channel, it’s only a matter of planning ahead. The duck gets character from a fragrant and flavorful overnight marinade and then is simply roasted. Served with these uber easy pancakes and a few accompaniments, and you have a bonafide Chinese feast that’s not only smashingly scrumptious, it’s fun to eat!

Homemade Peking Duck with Tender Pancakes

During my daughter’s spring break, I tried to ply her (and her boyfriend) with as many culinary pleasures as I could fit in a week. Of course, Chinese cuisine–her fave–had to be a part of that repertoire. This Peking duck recipe was easy (really!) and so delicious, only requiring a little forethought. The simple pancake batter whips up in a flash and makes perfectly tender crepes. Some slivered scallions and julienne of cucumber, along with thickly sweet hoisin sauce (right out of the jar), and this meal is deliciously done.

You may be surprised to know that a 5 to 6 pound duck usually only feeds about 2 to 3 people. Their carcasses are very bony and once the skin has been rendered of all of its fat (and there’s a lot), it loses much of its weight. But one duck is all you need to carve up for this dish, which perfectly feeds four (including one very hungry boyfriend), so not to worry. Using the sharp point of a paring knife, poke slits all over the skin of the duck on all sides. This will help to render the fat, leaving the skin nicely crisp.

Pour hot water over the duck, inside and out, to rinse. Dry well with paper towels. Place the duck on a rack in a roasting pan and season all over with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

This rich marinade, made with only five ingredients, is a beautiful complexity of flavor. Its perfume will waft through your kitchen–we were salivating for two days. Chinese five spice powder is a tantalizing blend of aromatic seasonings; these days, you can find it in the spice or Asian aisle of your market. In a bowl, mix together honey, water, soy sauce, five spice powder, and dark brown sugar until blended. 

Brush duck inside and out with marinade. Let dry for 10 minutes and then brush again, repeating until you’ve used all but about 5 tablespoons of the marinade. Reserve this for the next day. Place roasting pan in refrigerator, leaving the duck uncovered overnight.

Remove duck and reserved marinade from fridge and allow them to come to room temperature, about an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the vegetables: fill a large bowl with ice water. Clean and trim the scallions, and then slice them into long thin slivers. Place them in the ice water to crisp. Peel and seed a hothouse cucumber. Slice into thin julienne and add to the bowl. When ready to serve, dry the crisped veggies well with paper towel.

Place roasting pan in oven and roast duck, breast side down, for 45 minutes. Turn the bird over and baste it generously with reserved marinade. Continue roasting for another 45 minutes, until skin is golden and crispy, being careful not to let it get too dark. 

To check for doneness, use an instant read thermometer: internal temp in the dark meat portion should read 165 degrees. Place the duck on a cutting board, tent it with foil, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

To make the pancakes, whisk together the flour, eggs, and water until blended, then season with kosher salt. 

To speed up the pancake making process, I like to fire up two skillets at once. Place the 8 inch pans over medium low heat and add a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil to each, so that they’re well coated. When the oil is hot, ladle about 1/4 cup batter into each pan, swirling the pan to spread out the batter to form a thin crepe. 

When the pancakes begin to set, their edges will curl away from the pan. At this point, flip them over to cook the other side. As they finish cooking, stack the pancakes in a large bowl, covered with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out.

Spoon a jar of hoisin sauce (also easy to find at your market) into a small serving bowl. Plate the cucumber and scallion slivers. Carve the duck by first removing the leg joints, wings, and then the breasts. Thinly slice the breast meat and platter all together to serve alongside the pancakes. 

Each person can assemble their own pancake–it’s easy and fun to do. Place a pancake on your plate, smear with a dab of the thick hoisin sauce. Lay slices of duck meat and crispy skin down the center, with the cucumber and scallion, and roll, tucking in the sides as you go. It’s an amazing flavor sensation–tender crepe, luscious meat, crispy skin, sweet sauce, crunchy veggies…mmmm!

Adapted from Ching-He Huang, Easy Chinese: San Francisco
Serves 4:

5 to 6 pound duck
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Marinade:

6 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons Chinese five spice powder
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar


Pancake Batter:

1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs
2 cups water
kosher salt
vegetable oil for cooking


1 bunch scallions
1 hothouse cucumber
1 8 ounce jar hoisin sauce

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