Peking Duck

To cook a Chinese cuisine recipe Peking duck, you must first choose the right duck. The duck should be small, with thin skin, you should not choose larger and fatter, and you should not take an indole – for a Peking duck recipe, a store duck is quite suitable. After the duck is selected, you need to remove excess fat, wash and dry it with a paper towel.

If you do not have 5 spices, you can make it. “5 spices” seasoning is easy to cook – a stick of cinnamon, star anise (2 pcs.), Sichuan pepper (2 tsp) or black pepper, cloves (1 tsp), fennel seeds (1 tsp). All the ingredients need to be warmed well in a pan, and then grind in a mortar or using a coffee grinder.

Pour water into the pan, add honey, sliced ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, star anise, pepper and "5 spices" seasoning. Put the pan on the fire and, stirring occasionally, bring to a boil.

Put the wire rack in the basin, put the duck on the wire rack and pour the duck with the resulting marinade. Water the duck from all sides and from the inside. Then dip the duck in the marinade and hold it there for another 5-10 minutes, so that it is well marinated. The next step is to dry the duck. You can tie it with twine and hang it in a cool place, or you can put it on the grate, put a container under the grate so that liquid drains, and put the duck in the refrigerator. The duck should dry for about 12 hours. An hour before being ready, the duck must be removed from the refrigerator and left on the table at room temperature.

Pour water at about 5 cm high into heat-resistant dishes, place a wire rack on the dishes and lay on top of the duck. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (355°F), put the duck in the preheated oven and cook for about 2.5 hours. Time is determined by the weight of the duck, if the duck is less, then it is necessary to cook it less. After the time has passed, remove the duck from the oven, pierce it with a toothpick, and if white juice flows out, the Peking duck is ready. Put the duck on the board and you can start cutting.

While Peking duck cools down, you can cook the sauce for serving. Mix the heisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil and put on low heat. So that the sauce does not burn, it is better to put it on the divider. Stir periodically, bring to a boil, add water and boil for another 1 minute.

Now you can cross to the cutting of ducks. First remove the skin, and then, cutting thin slices of meat, cut the duck. The bones and meat left after cutting can be used to make a recipe such as Peking duck soup, which is served after the main course – the duck itself. Peking duck served with chopped strips of cucumbers, cooked sauce, finely chopped green onions and mandarin pancakes. All products are served on separate plates, when used, spread a slice of duck on a pancake, cucumber, sprinkle with finely chopped onions, pour sauce, wrap and everything – you can eat a Peking duck.