Both roast Peking Duck and American roast turkey originated from the roast goose of the Mediterranean regions. Birds were the aid and gift that God gave man. But man likes to eat only those birds that are big and fleshy. The goose is a fleshy fowl and is also the special product of the Mediterranean regions. When it is roasted for food, its meat is delicious and tender. Therefore, roast goose is a traditional dish in Europe and is widely recognized as a delicacy.
When Europeans arrived in America, they found that the bird which God gave them as a gift this time was the turkey. So they ate roast turkey and offered thanks to God. After learning of the origin of roast turkey you would find it easier to accept as true the following story about peking duck. The roast goose of the Western world may be considered in a sense the progenitor of the roast duck of China. The technique of roasting the goose was twice passed on to China---once during the Yuan Dynasty, when China was ruled by Mongols, and later again during the Qin Dynasty, when China was under the rule of the Manchurian conquerors. The Mongolian Empire occupied an enormous territory extending from the east of China westward to the regions of the Mediterranean Sea. This was the reason why people of the Western world, such as Marco Polo, could have come to China. They brought to China quite a lot of the culture of the Western world, including the cannon and the roast goose. How did it come about that roast goose was transformed into roast duck? The cause of the transformation was no different from that of the transformation of roast goose into roast turkey.
Chinese people began to domesticate wild duck two thousand years ago, but European people did not do that. Instead, they domesticated the goose very early. As China had specialized in producing duck for thousands of years, this fowl became a special product of the country and was preferred by Chinese people to the goose, which was generally not in favor. Furthermore, the duck used for producing roast duck was of an excellent species bred painstakingly by Chinese over a long period of time. The scientific name of the species is Peking duck. It was imported by the United States in the year 1874 under the name of Peking duck, and thereafter it came to be spread all over the world. Nevertheless, the duck of this species being bred in China now is still reputed to be the best.
The method used at first in China for roasting a duck was almost the same as that used in the Western world for roasting a goose. It was called ¡°roasting duck in the hermetic oven¡±. As a matter of fact, its main features were essentially those that characterized the Western mode of preparation of roast goose. An oven was built by laying stones or bricks. A fire was made to burn inside the oven, so that a large amount of heat was absorbed by the walls of the oven, and the duck placed in the oven later was roasted by the heat dissipated by the walls until it was well cooked.
Near the end of the Qing Dynasty, the method for roasting duck underwent a change. The hermetic oven was replaced by the pendent oven. In other words, roasting in a hermetic oven came to be combined with roasting over burning fire. The body of the duck was smeared with honey and then hung for roasting, so that not only the roasted Peking duck would have the aroma imparted to it by the burning log, but the high temperature characteristic of the hermetic oven could also be attained.
During that period, Chinese people made a far-reaching innovation in the duck-roasting process. They did away with disembowelment of the duck. Only a small hole was bored in the body for removal of the viscera. Air was forced under high pressure into the space between the skin and the flesh so that the two became separated from each other. Then the duck body was smeared with maltose syrup and left to dry in a cool place. The whole duck would become almost crimson in color, as if it had been painted with red lacquer. Therefore, peking duck came to be called jokingly by some foreigners the ¡°lacquered duck¡±.
With regard to details, it should be noted that before the duck is put in the oven its chest is to be filled with boiling water and the hole closed by being tied up with a piece of string. The boiling water is to be discharged only after the roasting process has come to an end. This seemingly trivial modification has several advantages. First, the duck will not lose water when being roasted. Second, the water will keep the chest of the duck swollen so that the skin will not shrink and will not become softened by the roasting, with the result that the duck skin will be thin and crisp and become the most delicious part of the roast duck. Having been roasted in this way, the duck will be golden and lustrous, its surface will be crisp and fragrant, and its meat will be very tender with a peculiar flavor.
The fuel of the oven is hard wood taken from such trees as jujube (Chinese date), peach and pear, because such fuel burns with little smoke and emits fragrance, and the fire is not too vehement. Every duck will be slightly seared on the surface after being roasted for about 40 minutes, but its interior will remain soft and tender and the meat will be rich and full. Then, how are you going to help yourself to the roast duck? The procedure is simple. The peking duck will be brought to the table in a large plate after being cut into thin slices with a sharp knife. This dish will be accompanied by another dish full of baked pancakes and other accessories. You need only smear a pancake with the sweet sauce made of fermented flour and put some scallion and mashed garlic on it together with a slice of the Peking duck and roll up the pancake. When you are eating the roll you will find that the taste is exquisite as is the sweet smell that accompanies it. A roast peking duck weighing 2 kilograms can yield more than 100 slices of meat of the shape and size of a leaf of clove, and the meat is crisp, tender and fragrant with a special flavor.
Epicures contend that roast duck is most palatable in three seasons, namely winter, spring and autumn. The reason is that the flesh of Peking duck is full and tender during winter and spring. In the fall the sky is clear and seems higher as a result, the air is refreshing, and both the temperature and humidity are appropriate for making roast duck. What is more, duck are generally fat and stout at that time.
August is the time when air is crisp and temperate for the season. It is the proper occasion for tasting peking duck. Therefore, don¡¯t miss the opportunity of tasting this ¡°delicacy in the land under heaven¡±, as the Chinese call it, when you come to Beijing. |
