Chinese recipe

Home-style Peking duck with Mandarin pancakes

Name: Home-style Peking duck with Mandarin pancakes
Prep time: 24 h
Cook time: 1 h 40 min
Total time: 25 h 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese cuisine
Ingredients: 1.8 kg air-chilled Pekin duck, giblets removed; 12 g fine salt; 8 g baking powder; 45 g maltose; 60 ml boiling water for maltose; 15 ml light soy sauce; 30 ml white vinegar; 240 g all-purpose flour for pancakes; 180 ml boiling water for pancakes; 15 ml neutral oil for stacking pancakes; 80 g scallions, cut into 8 cm batons; 150 g cucumber, cut into 8 cm batons; 120 g sweet bean sauce (tian mian jiang); 3.8 L boiling water for scalding the duck; 250 ml hot water for the roasting tray

Air-dried duck roasted upright for crackling skin, sliced with cucumber and scallion, and wrapped in thin Mandarin pancakes with sweet bean sauce.

Beijing, China

Prep: 24 hr
Cook: 1 hr 40 min
Total: 25 hr 40 min
Servings: 4

Real finished-dish brief: a platter of thin mahogany duck slices with visibly crackled skin, a stack of translucent Mandarin pancakes, cucumber batons, scallion slivers, and an uncovered dish of sweet bean sauce; every wrap component must be visible. — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by DaifaweiSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

1.8 kg
air-chilled Pekin duck, giblets removed
12 g
fine salt
8 g
baking powder
45 g
maltose
60 ml
boiling water for maltose
15 ml
light soy sauce
30 ml
white vinegar
240 g
all-purpose flour for pancakes
180 ml
boiling water for pancakes
15 ml
neutral oil for stacking pancakes
80 g
scallions, cut into 8 cm batons
150 g
cucumber, cut into 8 cm batons
120 g
sweet bean sauce (tian mian jiang)
3.8 L
boiling water for scalding the duck
250 ml
hot water for the roasting tray

Method

01
Pat duck dry. Separate skin from breast and thigh meat with clean fingers without tearing it. Rub salt and baking powder over the skin, set on a rack, and refrigerate uncovered 12–18 hours until dry and taut.
02
Set the chilled duck on a rack in a clean sink and slowly ladle 3.8 L boiling water over every side to tighten the skin; drain well. Stir maltose into the measured 60 ml boiling water with soy sauce and white vinegar, then brush this glaze evenly over the duck.
03
Return the glazed duck to the rack, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 6–8 hours, until the skin feels dry rather than tacky. Meanwhile, mix the pancake flour with 180 ml boiling water, knead for 8 minutes until smooth, cover, and rest for 60 minutes.
04
Divide dough into 16 balls. Brush pairs with oil, stack, and roll each pair into a 14 cm round. Cook on a dry skillet over medium heat 30–45 seconds per side until small bubbles appear; separate the paired pancakes while warm and cover.
05
Heat the oven to 240°C. Place the duck breast-side up on a rack over a roasting tray, pour 250 ml hot water into the tray below the rack to limit fat spatter, and roast for 15 minutes.
06
Lower the oven to 180°C and roast for 65–70 minutes more, until the skin is deep mahogany and crisp and the thickest part of the thigh reaches 74°C. Tent only fast-darkening areas loosely with foil.
07
Rest duck upright 15 minutes. Slice skin and meat into thin pieces with a sharp knife; discard the rack drippings after cooling safely.
08
Spread 7.5 g sweet bean sauce on each warm pancake, add duck, one scallion baton, and one cucumber baton. Fold and serve immediately while the skin is crisp.

Practical notes

Tips

Drying is the key step; the skin should feel papery and taut before roasting.
A vertical rack lets fat drain and avoids a soggy underside; check that the rack is heatproof and stable.

Common mistakes

Putting a damp duck in the oven produces rubbery skin rather than crackle.
Cutting before the 15-minute rest releases juices and makes thin slices dry.

Substitutions

maltose (45 g) → honey (45 g): Brush a thinner coat and watch the 220°C finish closely.
sweet bean sauce (120 g) → hoisin sauce (120 g): Hoisin is saltier and thicker; spread a thinner layer.

Storage

Separate sliced duck, pancakes, and garnishes. Refrigerate duck airtight up to 2 days and pancakes up to 3 days; reheat duck on a 220°C rack for 5–8 minutes and steam pancakes for 2 minutes. Freeze cooked duck up to 1 month.

Cultural context

Peking duck is a Beijing roast-duck tradition built around crisp skin, thin pancakes, scallion, cucumber, and a sweet sauce. Restaurant carving often separates skin and meat; this home method presents both together.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.