Peking Duck
Duck:
3-4 lbs duck
1 teaspoon malt sugar or honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup plum sauce
1/2 cup sweet red bean paste or hoisin sauce
10 scallions, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
1 small cucumber, peeled and cut lengthwise into thin strips about 2 inches long
Pancakes (or use small, flour tortillas)
2 cups flour
1 cup boiling water
vegetable oil or sesame oil
Clean the duck and place in a basin. Boil a large kettle of water and pour it over the duck, dousing it thoroughly.Remove the bird immediately and dry it inside and out with a paper towel. Hang it by the neck overnight in an airy place.
Dissolve the malt sugar in the soy sauce and rub the duck with this mixture. When this coating has dried, place the duck on a wire rack in a roasting pan and put it in an oven, preheated to 375°F to roast for 1 hour. Do not baste the duck or open the oven door.
While the duck is roasting, make the pancakes. Put the flour in a bowl and gradually add the boiling water. Mix well with a wooden spoon, but do not knead the dough. Cover with a cloth and leave stand for 20 minutes.
Form the dough into a long roll about 2 inches in diameter. Cut off 1/2 inch rounds from the roll. Roll the rounds into balls and flatten them into round cakes 1/4 inch thick. When you have used up the dough, dust each cake with flour and roll it out into a paper thin pancake. Lightly brush a heavy skillet with oil, and cook the pancakes over low heat for 1 1/4 minutes on each side. They are ready when parts of the pancakes start to curl and bubble slightly. Stack the cooked pancakes and cover with a damp cloth until required.
To serve the duck, first slice off the crisp skin in 1-2 inch squares and then slice off the meat. Place the skin and the meat on two separate warmed dishes and bring to the table. The plum sauce, the bean paste, the scallions and the cucumber strips should all be laid out in separate small dishes. Spread a spoonful of sauce on each pancake, lay strips of cucumber and scallions down the center, add duck skin and meat, and roll up the pancake.
After the duck carcass has been stripped of its meat, it is usually boiled with a large amount of cabbage and traditionally served as a soup to end the meal.
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