Peking Duck

How to Make Peking Duck Recipe - preparation 10 minutes cooking time 1 hour Serves 4

Ingredients:
2kg/4½lb duck
1 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
a pinch of five-spice powder
To serve
12 ready-made Chinese pancakes
8 tbsp plum sauce
1 bunch of spring onions (scallions), cut into thin strips
½ cucumber, cut into thin strips

Method:
1 Put the duck in a large bowl. Pour a kettleful of boiling water over it. Remove the duck and dry inside and out with kitchen paper. Prick the skin all over with a fork, taking care not to pierce the flesh. Leave it somewhere cool and airy to dry overnight, with a bowl underneath to catch any drips.

2 Heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Mix the honey and soy sauce with the five-spice powder and rub over the duck. Set aside to dry for 10 minutes. Put the duck on a wire rack over a roasting pan and roast in the oven for 1 hour.

3 Heat the pancakes according to the pack instructions.

4 Strip the skin and meat from the duck and place on a warmed plate.

5 Each person spreads a spoonful of plum sauce on to a pancake, adds some strips of spring onion and cucumber and pieces of duck, then rolls it up tightly.

Peking Duck