Crispy Peking Duck Pancakes with Hoisin Sauce

Here’s a dish that takes me back to my time in the Orient. Actually I’ve never been but if I had I’m sure it would. In China they can turn a duck into a multi-course banquet. Every bit is used (and I mean every bit). In this version we are a little more conservative.

Traditionally the duck is hung (not alive) in a dry, cool, drafty place. My wife, being vegetarian, didn’t fancy the idea of bathing with a dead duck in the bathroom (actually I never broached the idea). So I followed Jamie Oliver’s quick and dirty method. (Or you can try the vegetarian version here).

Making Crispy Peking Duck is dead easy. It might have been the wine but I swear I couldn’t tell the difference between this creation and what is served at the local Chinese restaurant.

Ingredients

• A duck
• A chunk of ginger
• Chinese Five Spice
• Salt

To serve

• Spring Onion, shredded
• Cucumber, shredded
• A big pot of Hoisin Sauce
• Small wafer pancakes (get them from your local interesting food store)

Method

So you get your duck and rub salt all over it, inside and out. Then you grate some fresh ginger and rub that into the skin and pop the rest of the lump inside the cavity.

Then you rub lots and lots of Chinese 5 Spice all over the bird and put it in the oven on a rack so the fat drips into the oven tray. (Ducks are very fatty). This helps it get a crispy skin all over. Quack. Looking at this picture I think I threw some Soy Sauce on too although I don’t remember.

Bird ready for roasting…

Now you just let that bad bird roast away for a couple of hours. Pour a bit of the rendered fat over it every now and then to help the crisping process and turn occasionally too if you like.

By the end Daffy should look a bit like this:

Get your condiments and sides together on a plate. Pull some duck off the carcass using a fork so it shreds up as you go.

Now the best bit – putting your pancakes together. Get a pancake. Spread a big dollop of Hoisin Sauce over it. Place some cucumber and spring onion on the pancake and then top with a generous helping of shredded crispy duck:

Now roll that sucker up and stuff it.

Repeat as many times as you want or until the duck runs out!