duck
In the summer of 2018, my family flew back to China. We normally do this once every 2-3 years to catch up with relatives. Great experience, good food, fun places to visit. It’s also nice meeting relatives I did not know about (all extended relatives live in China, none in the US. It’s like the stories you hear about X person saw you as a baby and claim they “raised” you but you have zero recollection of that person).
Regarding good food, probably the most memorable dish was Peking duck. It’s a whole roast duck, stuffed with various spices such as star anise, cloves, and Sichuan pepper. The duck is then pumped with air to cause the skin to separate from the fat, and then is dipped in boiling water, tightening the skin. The duck is then hung to dry, where it is glazed with a runny syrup. It is then left for 24 hours until being roasted in the oven. The end result is a duck with extremely crispy skin. That’s probably the best part, the duck skin is crispy, fatty, and delicious. When combined with other side dishes, the flavor is elevated.
What makes this dish so memorable is the way it’s served. A chef comes and slices the skin and meat off tableside. Traditional side dishes include steamed pancakes, scallion batons, hoisin sauce (a thick fragrant sauce that tastes sweet and salty), hawthorn, and cucumber. To eat it, take a wrap and pretty much place whatever and however much you want. Bundle it up and enjoy. It’s amazing how such simple ingredients complement the main dish as a whole. The freshness of the scallions, the subtle sweetness of hawthorn, and the juicy cucumbers group well and help cut down on the fattiness of the duck skin, which just melts in your mouth.
It’s a very communal dish, one for special occasions as well (in this case it was my family returning to visit). I’d munch on a bundle and listen in on my mother recalling high school stories with her friends, or my father talking with his old colleagues about the situation in the United States. Occasionally I’d talk with someone, not often though due to my broken Mandarin. Overall it’s a great way to celebrate and reconnect with friends and family. It’s a shame though, there aren’t any authentic places in the US for Peking duck.
I’ve always wanted to try duck, and although I haven’t had a chance to yet, your blog made me want to try it even more. The way you broke down the process through which the duck is prepared was interesting and sounds like a lot of work (but also very worth it). I liked the way you described how the meal brought you and your extended family together, despite not being able to speak much with them. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI love the detailed description you provided on the dish -- I could imagine all of the flavors and textures. I also really like how you tied this dish into it's larger cultural value of being a "celebration." Great job!
ReplyDeletePeking duck is soooo good! I never had it served to me like you described since we always just got it at Chinatown in a to-go box, but seeing it sliced next to you at the table seems like a very cool experience. I also didn't know about the whole process that went into preparing Peking duck so i thought it was really interesting that you included it.
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