Classic Chinese recipe: pancakes with Peking duck

Now that Chin-Ind restaurants are increasingly disappearing from the streetscape, while the craving for nostalgic Chinese ‘takeaway food’ is not diminishing, there is a wonderful opportunity to start making these classics at home yourself. You can do that now with the inspiring recipes from the fantastic cookbook Chinese! by Suzie Lee. In it, you’ll find Suzie’s favorites, suitable for everyone regardless of your cooking experience. The true home cook can get started right away with my all-time favorite: pancakes with Peking duck.

I remember it so well, the very first time I ate pancakes with Peking duck. The silky-soft pancake with the crunchy duck, fresh cucumber, spicy spring onion and that umami-rich hoisin sauce; I thought I was going crazy! So delicious! And it is still my go-to dish whenever I eat Chinese food. It’s a classic for a reason: this really is the kind of dish you’re always in the mood for, it never goes out of style.

About Suzie Lee

The recipe for the pancakes with Peking duck comes from no ordinary chef: Suzie’s parents had moved from Hong Kong and ran a Chinese takeaway restaurant. As a result, she was surrounded 24/7 by the rich Chinese food culture and flavors. In 2020, she was named the best Home Cook by the BBC. Since then, she has presented her own cooking show,  Home Cook Hero, on the channel.

Suzie is a chef after my own heart. She loves to freestyle and cook with whatever you have at home. Don’t expect complicated recipes, endless ingredient lists or frequent trips to the Asian supermarket. She has adapted the traditional Cantonese recipes she learned to cook from her mother and an aunt so that you can easily make them on weekdays too, and so that the supermarket or your pantry provides enough ingredients. Very convenient if you don’t have an Asian supermarket nearby.

How to make pancakes with Peking duck

Suzie: ‘Duck is one of my favorite meats, and this recipe is also a delicious sharing dish – or simply a large meal for yourself when you’re really hungry! For this recipe, I like to use duck legs because I think they have more flavor, but you can also choose duck breast. Both the meat and the pancakes can be prepared in advance and frozen for later use.’

If you don’t have the time or inclination to make the pancakes yourself, buy ready-made Chinese pancakes (you’ll find them in the freezer section of the Asian supermarket). In the recipe below, Suzie teaches you how to make them yourself, which is of course the most delicious option.

• Preheat the oven to 160 oC fan or 180 oC conventional.
• Rub each duck leg or breast with 1 teaspoon of five-spice powder and 1 teaspoon of hoisin sauce. Put the ginger and spring onions in a shallow roasting tin with a rack and pour in enough water to completely cover the bottom (approximately 250 ml).
• Place the duck legs or breasts on the rack – making sure they do not touch the water – and brush them with a little vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper, cover the roasting tin with aluminum foil and bake the duck in the oven for at least 1 hour and
  30 minutes, until tender and cooked through.
• While the duck is in the oven, make the pancakes: put the flour, salt and oil in a large heatproof mixing bowl. Pour in the boiling water and mix with chopsticks or a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Cover the bowl with a
  damp tea towel or cling film and leave to stand for 10 minutes – this helps develop the gluten and makes the dough easier to knead later. Knead the dough on a floured work surface for about 5 minutes until smooth. Return it to the bowl, cover it again and leave to rest for about 15 minutes. Divide the dough into sixteen equal portions. Take one portion of dough, brush the surface with a little oil and press another portion on top. Dust a piece of baking paper with flour, place the dough on it and roll the two pieces together into a thin disc 10 centimeters in diameter.
• Grease a frying pan with a little oil and place it over medium heat. Put a pancake in the pan and fry for 30–60 seconds, until the underside has brown spots. Turn the pancake over and fry for another 30–60 seconds. Carefully remove it from the pan. If you made the pancakes yourself, pull the two pieces apart while they
  are still warm. Then place them in the pan for another 30 seconds – not too long, otherwise they will become too hard! Place the finished pancakes on a plate under a lightly damp tea towel to keep them soft and warm. Repeat with the rest of the
  dough.
• Place the strips of spring onion in a bowl of cold water to refresh them. Remove the duck from the oven, pull the meat from the bones and shred it into pieces. If it looks a little dry (this may be the case if you used duck breasts), mix in
  some of the cooking juices.
• Serve the duck with the pancakes, a bowl of hoisin sauce, and the spring onion and cucumber strips.

Title: Chinese!
Author: Suzie Lee
Price: €26.99
Publisher: Becht

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