Roast Duck, China’s popular delicacy
It wasn’t until I arrived China about the middle of July that I had my first taste of duck meat. In Nigeria, I had never seen it on sale. I used to see live ducks from time to time, although they are less visible these days. Duck meat is nice, and I am happy to […]
It wasn’t until I arrived China about the middle of July that I had my first taste of duck meat. In Nigeria, I had never seen it on sale. I used to see live ducks from time to time, although they are less visible these days. Duck meat is nice, and I am happy to say I am now something of an advocate of duck meat among my circle of friends. The circle is quite enthusiastic, I have to add, and it attributed the glowing skin which I returned to Nigeria with, to the duck meat I had enjoyed in Beijing. If you are in China, please ask for Peking Duck or Roast Duck which is one of the country’s popular meals.
I am not sure that ducks in China are under any threat of extinction owing to the high consumption level among the country’s population. I am sure the government would breed the birds adequately to take care of the demand. The consumption of ducks in China goes back many years, so says Ivy our guide, who took all 46 of us for the meal one evening at a very nice restaurant there in Beijing.
We were in China for the 9th seminar for journalists and information officers from English speaking African countries. It lasted two weeks and was made up of lectures, discussions, field trips, as well as visits to places of historical and cultural significance. Here are a group of African journalists, many of who were in China for the first time, going to enjoy the country’s national meal. We had been told about the meal some 24 hours earlier and we were in the right frame of mind, and all possessed a rich appetite, I recall. The very front of the restaurant has a beauty that also serves to prepare you for the meal itself. The staff was all uniformly dressed along with the chef and they attended to us promptly. Several staff would attend to a table, and when a dish has been eaten, they replace same with the next course. The staff workd as a team. When one of them takes away an empty plate, the staff behind, usually a Lady, would now put a fresh plate on the table, or provide a drink if the drinks need to be replaced. All actions were done with a smile. There is an impressive harmony in their activities. One nice thing about meal times in China is the fact that the table has a moving centre which is made of glass. If you wish to take some bits of duck meat, then you move the glass centre towards yourself. It then comes towards you, or rather, it gracefully turns in your direction. So, there is much beauty and style with a meal, and, of course, less noise. Mealtimes are fun moments and occasions of great beauty, China seems to be telling us. Everything is made easy for the guest. If you need something, say pepper, you simply signal to the staff already standing by your table. She notices you, and then comes and attends to you.
Ivy says “everyone who comes to Beijing from the countryside, likes to have a taste of the Roast Duck meal. The way the duck is sliced is also like a kind of performance”. Tourists who visit the city also like Roast Duck, Ivy indicates, and adds that the restaurant, named Quan Ju De, where we were having the meal, prepares the best Roast Duck in the whole of the city. This is a meal which is served along with countless delightful appetizers, and is simply unique.
On Roast Duck Wikipedia states “Peking Duck is a famous dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era, and is now considered one of China’s national foods…Ducks bred specially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and seasoned before being roasted in a closed or hung oven…The two most notable restaurants in Beijing which serve this delicacy are Quan Ju De and Bianyifang, two century old establishments which had become household names..”
The name given to the dish has altered over the years, Wikipedia adds. It was originally known as Shaoyazi.The first restaurant to specialize in Peking Duck, Bianyifang, was established in Yianyukou, within the Qianmen area of Beijing in 1416. It is a meal which Chinese poets and scholars have sung about and it spread to the upper classes sometime around the 18th century. Again Wikipedia states “by the mid 20th century, Peking Duck had become a national symbol of China, favoured by tourists and diplomats alike.”
The story is also recounted in Wikipedia of Henry Kissinger, one time US Secretary of State of the US who met Premier Zhou Enlai in the Great Hall of the People on July 10 during his first visit to China. After a round of inconclusive talks in the morning, the delegation was served Peking Duck for lunch, which became Kissinger’s favourite. The Americans and Chinese issued a joint statement the following day, inviting President Nixon to visit China in 1972. Peking Duck was hence considered one of the factors behind the rapprochement of the United States to China in the 1970s. When Zhou Enlai passed on in 1976, Kissinger visited Peking again to savour Peking Duck. Other world leaders who have become fond of the meal include Fidel Castro and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Lesson: The delightful duck meal can turn around a difficult situation. It can create harmony where this quality was absent. It is a peacemaker of sorts.
Quan Ju De Restaurant in old Beijing was founded by Yang Quanren in 1866, the fifth year of Emperor Tongzhi’s reign. Yang invited a celebrated cook who had once worked for the Qing Court kitchen, and together they created the Roast Duck, prepared by hanging it in an oven.
A full duck banquet consists of cold and hot dishes, in addition to soup, all prepared with duck. In China, little meals are served as part of the dinner. You may have a total of eight of these, and by the end you feel quite full and happy with yourself, as well as with the chef, all the cooks and China herself. The chef cuts the duck in the presence of the seated guests. It is a kind of performance as Ivy initially said.
According to Chinatourguide, “first, the chef will show you the whole duck. Then he will slice it into about 120 pieces with both skin and meat for each. Usually, the duck is served together with a kind of special Chinese pancakes, hollowed sesame bun, green onions and sweet sauce.”
If you visit China, or go to a Chinese restaurant, there is a strong feeling that you would soon become fond of the exciting Roast Duck meal, and all the nice small courses that go along with it.