How to make crispy aromatic duck at home
Contents
How to make crispy aromatic duck at home
Please note: This recipe shows how to cook a ready prepared Peking-style duck and serve with the standard accompaniments. See here if you want to create this recipe from scratch using a fresh duck.
A step-by-step guide, in pictures
2 massive spring onions
Cheat, chop the spring onions in a food processor
Pretty-up the cucumber
De-seed the cucumber, if you wish
Cheat, chop the cucumber in a food processor
Cucumber, chopped
Warm them for a few seconds in the microwave
Sprinkle the spring onions on the pancake
Add the sliced cucumber
Making this delicious Chinese take-away favourite at home is so simple and so reasonably priced that you'll never buy it from the take-away again.
Unless you want to spend money for the sake of it, don't buy the ingredients from your local 'big-name' supermarket. You'll probably pay double and certainly won't have the selection of ingredients that you'll have if you follow my next suggestion.
Buy the ingredients from the same place as your Chinese take-away does
This advice is specific to the United Kingdom, though I'm sure similar outlets exist throughout the world.
Pay a visit to your local Chinese food wholesaler. There are chains of them throughout the UK and you don't need to be a member of any trade association to buy from them. You may find them a little intimidating at first, but the staff are friendly and if you are into your food in a big way, you will find it a fascinating experience. Most of them have a very good on-line presence so you can 'look before you buy'. I guarantee that you will go back again and again.
Ingredients
prices accurate as of July 2012
Ingredients
Printable 🖨 shopping 🛒 list & 👩🍳 method for this recipe
- 1 frozen pre-cooked aromatic crispy duck [£8.50]
- Where: Freezer section
- Buy more than 1 and freeze for later use
- 1 multi-pack 'pancakes for crispy duck'
- 102 pancakes, 17 packs (pre-packed in packs of 6)
- Where: Freezer section
- 1 cucumber
- Where: Groceries
- 1 bunch spring onions
- Where: Groceries
- 1 bottle 'Sauce for Peking Duck'
- Where: Sauces section
or
Ingredients
Printable 🖨 shopping 🛒 list & 👩🍳 method for this recipe
- 1 bottle 'Hoisin sauce' (similar to above)
- Where: Sauces section
- 1 bottle 'Plum sauce'
- Where: Sauces section
Mise en place
- Defrost a few packets of Chinese pancakes
- Peel the cucumber, quarter lengthwise and run a sharp knife along each quadrant to remove most of the seeds.
- Top and tail the spring onions
- Using a food processor with a metal blade, slice the cucumber and spring onions. It doesn't look as neat as julienning them, but it takes a quarter of the time and tastes just as good.
- Chill the spring onions and cucumber in the refrigerator while the duck defrosts
- Preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F - gas 6)
Method
- Place the duck (skin-side down) on a rack over a roasting tray or a perforated roasting tray over a roasting tray - this will allow for the fat to drain off whilst the duck cooks.
- Roast the duck for 45 minutes, turning once, carefully draining the roasting tray if it fills with fat, otherwise you'll have a very smoky kitchen
- You can steam the pancakes in a Chinese steamer over a wok or pan of boiling water for a few minutes - they only need to be warmed, not cooked. I find they often stick together warming them this way so I prefer to separate the pancakes, spread them out on a large plate and microwave them for a minute or two to warm them.
- Remove the duck from the oven, chop the skin into bite-sized pieces and then with two forks pulling against each other, shred the duck meat.
To serve
Spread a little of your favourite sauce on a pancake, cover with cucumber, spring onions & duck, roll the pancake up and eat with your fingers - delicious!