Peking Duck

Peking Duck (also called Beijing roast duck; Simplified Chinese: 北京烤鸭; Traditional Chinese: 北京烤鴨; Pinyin: Běijīng kǎoyā) is one of the best-known dishes of Beijing (Jing) cuisine. It is prized for thin, crisp skin and tender meat, usually carved at the table and eaten with thin wheat pancakes, scallion, cucumber, and a sweet bean or hoisin-style sauce.

Characteristics

The hallmark is contrast between lacquered, brittle skin and moist meat. Birds are traditionally air-dried and roasted so the skin separates slightly from the fat beneath. Diners typically wrap sliced skin and meat in pancakes with fresh aromatics and sauce rather than eating the duck alone as a heavy roast plate. Restaurant service often presents carved duck first, then a soup or stir-fry made from remaining bones and meat.

Two classic oven approaches are discussed in Beijing food writing: closed-oven (menlu) roasting that emphasizes juicy meat, historically associated with older Bianyifang-lineage shops; and hanging open-oven (gualu) roasting over fruitwood, associated with Quanjude-style crisp skin and light smoky aroma. Treat brand names as technique examples, not advertisements.

Ingredients (overview)

A specially prepared duck; wheat pancakes (or sometimes steamed buns); scallion strips; cucumber; savory-sweet fermented bean sauce. Some banquet sequences add duck-bone soup or offal dishes afterward. Overview only—not a recipe.

History and culture

Soft lineage framing in tourism and encyclopedia sources links Beijing roast duck to earlier Nanjing / Jinling roast-duck habits that traveled north when the Ming capital settled in Beijing—useful orientation, not a single-year invention claim. Capital dining culture then refined presentation, air-drying, and tableside carving into the Jing specialty visitors expect today.

Shop history soft notes: Quanjude's founding year is commonly given as 1864 in Beijing culture pages; Bianyifang claims an older closed-oven lineage with dates that vary by retelling—cite as restaurant tradition, avoid store-count or revenue language. Soft ICH / craft recognition language appears on municipal culture sites for Peking-duck roasting skills; read as heritage framing, not a monopoly on the dish.

Today Peking Duck remains a signature for visitors and a festive banquet choice, while simpler roast-duck shops serve everyday versions across the city.

Serving and variations

Classic banquet service emphasizes whole-bird presentation and carving. Casual versions may use commercial ovens or half-bird plates. Home cooks sometimes approximate with oven roasting, accepting a different skin texture. Related northern roast and wheat-wrap habits appear across Beijing Food; soft neighbors include other duck dishes such as Tea-Smoked Duck (different smoke-tea path) and Cantonese roast poultry on Siu Mei menus.

See also

• Crispy Fragrant Duck
• Beijing Food
• Tea-Smoked Duck
• Siu Mei
• Zhajiangmian
• Jiaozi
• Jianbing
• Chinese Snack
• List of dishes (A-Z)