English Introduction of China Traditional Cuisine Roast Duck

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The art of roast duck evolved from the technology of making suckling pigs. For more than a century, professional chefs have formed the idea that duck skin should be soft and crisp, and melt in the mouth. When using traditional cooking methods, chefs in Quanjude pay special attention to the quality of ducks, auxiliary materials and the type of wood burned in the oven. Special farms supply fat Beijing ducks, each weighing an average of 2.5 kilograms. Two famous condiment shops in Beijing, Liubiju and Tianyuan, supply rich bean paste coated on pancakes. Fragrant sesame oil and refined sugar are also specially selected. Finally, only the wood of fruit trees such as jujube, peach and pear is used in the baking process to give meat a unique flavor.

The preparation of this dish requires a series of complicated steps, including inflating the whole skin like a balloon to make it properly roasted. Quanjude employs chefs who are good at these techniques, while other chefs prepare non-duck dishes. In the past, there were no more than 40 employees in this restaurant, but now it has grown to 1 000. Among them are chefs and managers with a record of 40 or 50 years of loyal service.

Cutting meat from duck carcasses is an art in itself. A skilled chef can cut 100 to 120 slices in four or five minutes, with half skin and half meat in each slice. Innovation is another quality cultivated by Quanjude. An experienced chef has mastered more than 80 kinds of dishes made of duck's viscera, head, wings and web. The choice of these dishes, whether hot, cold, boiled, fried, stewed or pickled, will become an integral part of the whole duck banquet.

The history of roast duck can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty (1206- 1368), when it was listed as one of the imperial dishes, which was contained in the Complete Recipe of Dishes and Drinks written by Hu Sihui, the inspector of the Imperial Chef. Details about the cooking process are also described in this early cookbook.

In the early15th century, when the capital of the Ming Dynasty moved from Nanjing to Beijing, roast duck was still one of the famous dishes on the court menu. According to local records, the earliest roast duck restaurant in Beijing was Laobianfang restaurant, which was opened in Jiajing period (1522- 1566). Unlike hanging ducks on hooks on the top of the stove and roasting them on burning wood, the old cheap square restaurant used radiant heat to roast ducks. First, the wall of the furnace is heated with sorghum stalks, and then the ducks are put into the furnace, and the heat emitted by the furnace wall is used for cooking. The duck baked in this way feels crisp and looks golden yellow. Its meat is tender and delicious.

During the Qianlong period (1736- 1796), roast duck was the favorite delicacy of the upper class. According to the famous cookbook "With the Garden" written by poet and gourmet Yuan Mei, "Roast duck is made by rotating a duckling on the grill of an oven. Inspector Feng's chef is very good at cooking this dish. " Other scholars were inspired by poetry after eating roast duck. In an old Beijing verse collection, there is a poem that says, "Fill your plate with roast duck and suckling pig." Another contemporary commentary reads: "When an official holds a banquet, he will choose dishes to please each of his guests. For example, the roast duck in Cheap Square ".