Peking duck with pancakes

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 1 duck(s) (farm duck 2.5 kg each), well ground, ready to cook
• 4 tbsp honey
• 4 tbsp soy sauce, dark
• 75 ml dry sherry or sake
• ½ tsp ginger, grated fresh root
• ½ tsp salt
• 300 g flour
• 250 ml water, boiling
• 2 tbsp oil (peanut oil)
• Plum(s) – dip, sweet and hot
• Sauce (Hoisin Sauce)
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 1 cucumber(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Total time approx. 14 hours

Wash the duck inside and out, then pat dry. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the duck for 5 seconds. Hang by the neck to dry overnight. Mix the honey with the soy sauce, sherry, ginger, and salt to make a glaze and rub the duck inside and out. Hang by the neck to dry for about 3 hours in a well-ventilated place; you can use a fan to help it dry. Repeat this process if necessary; the duck should look varnished. While the duck is roasting, prepare the pancakes, dip, and vegetables: Trim and wash the spring onions, cut half into diagonal, approximately 3 cm long pieces, and the rest into brushes. Place the brushes in cold water. Peel, halve, and deseed the cucumber, then cut into approximately ½ cm thick slices and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180°C and place the duck breast-side up on a roasting rack on the middle oven shelf. Add a little hot water to the roasting pan – making sure the duck doesn’t come into contact with the water – and cook for 90-120 minutes. Halfway through cooking, reduce the temperature to 160°C and turn the duck over to brown on all sides until crispy. The duck is cooked when a fork is inserted and a little more juice runs through. After cooking, let it rest for 15 minutes. Remove the skin and meat from the bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Serve on a warmed platter. To make the pancake batter: Sift the flour into a bowl, pour over the hot water, and knead the batter until light and smooth. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Roll out on a floured board to a thickness of about ½ cm and cut out cookies using a baking dish or a water glass with a diameter of about 6 cm. Brush every other cookie with oil and place an uncoated cookie on top, then roll out from the center with a rolling pin until the pancake is about 15 cm in diameter. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Heat a pan and cook the pancakes without oil until light brown on both sides. Then carefully pull them apart again, folding them first in half, then into a quarter, and keep warm. Place the pancakes on a plate, dip the spring onion brush into the hoisin sauce, unfold the pancake, and spread it over the pancake. Eat the skin first, then the flesh. Add a piece of skin, spring onion rings, and cucumber strips, roll up the pancake, dip it in the plum dip, and eat it with your fingers. Rice wine or green tea is recommended as a drink.