Editor Rhonda Parkinson
Apart from the spectacular Great Wall, visitors to Beijing should not miss tasting Beijing Roast Duck. To taste the famous roast duck, Quanjude Restaurant is your best choice. It has many branches in Beijing. The old restaurant first opened in 1860. It is said that the roast duck here is the best in Beijing and the service is very good.
Before you take the menu, you may want to know more about how Beijing roast duck is made and served. The sole purpose of raising ducks is to make food. Forced feeding, they are kept in cages and restricted from walking around to make them fatter and tender. Beijing roast duck is processed in several steps: first, the duck is coated with spices, salt and sugar, and then hung in the air for a period of time. Then the ducks are roasted in the oven or hung on the fire until they turn brown, rich in oil and fragrant.
Beijing roast duck is always sliced and served. The whole duck must be cut into 120 pieces, and each piece must have a complete meat layer. Usually, many dishes are served with ducks, including a plate of finely cut onion strips, a plate of cucumber strips, and finally a plate of mushy soybeans made of fermented wheat flour. Without these, the delicious duck will definitely be eclipsed.
When I first served Beijing roast duck, I hesitated to pick up chopsticks and didn't know where to start. There is a trick: first, pick up a piece of duck with a pair of chopsticks and dip it in soy sauce. Next, put it on a thin cake and add some cucumber strips and onions. Finally, wrap the things into a bundle with pancakes. The real secret of the taste of Beijing roast duck is that you eat the mixture carefully bit by bit. You will find that all the different ingredients are very compatible. Of course, beer is the most popular drink for dinner. It helps to remove the greasy duck meat. But there is no need to order extra soup, because duck bone soup is already included in your order. It will be the last course of dinner.
During my four visits to different roast duck restaurants in Quanjude, I found that the service there was always good. The price of ducks there is also moderate-a duck feast in 400 yuan. Besides, I was deeply impressed by the clean and well-decorated room and the character of the waiter. "Where is my next restaurant for Beijing roast duck?" You might ask. Quanjude is definitely my answer.
I hope you will like the delicious roast duck when you come to Beijing next time. But don't forget to practice using chopsticks before you enter the ring. However, in China restaurants, although a pair of chopsticks is necessary, the service tip is unnecessary.
About the author:
Yu Ronghe graduated from Shandong Normal University in China and now lives in Shandong. As a bilingual writer and photographer, he is committed to promoting cultural exchanges between China and the English-speaking world, and the sweet and sour pork recipes and the traditional China recipes for cooked meat.
This sweet and sour pork is American-style, and it is fried twice with more batter to get extra crispness.
Suitable for 4 to 6 people.
Composition:
* 3/4 lb pork tenderloin
* 2-3 teaspoons of soy sauce
* A small amount of corn starch
* sauce:
* 1/4 cups of sugar
* 2 tablespoons ketchup
* 2 tablespoons black soy sauce
* 1/4 teaspoons of salt
* 1/2 glass of water or reserved pineapple juice.
* 1/4 cups of vinegar
* 1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 4 tbsp water.
* batter:
* 1/3 cups of flour
* 1/3 cup corn starch
* 1 egg white, tap
* 1 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1/3 cups of warm water, as required.
* Others:
* 1 carrot
* 1/2 red bell pepper
* 1/2 green bell pepper
* 1/2 cups of pineapple pieces
* 3 cups of frying oil, or as required.
Preparatory work:
Description of sweet and sour pork
Cut the pork into 1 inch cubes. Marinate with soy sauce and corn starch for 20 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix sugar, tomato sauce, black soy sauce, salt, water or juice and vinegar. Put it aside. In another bowl, dissolve the corn starch in water. Put it aside.
Peel carrots and cut them diagonally into small pieces of 1 inch. Cut the sweet pepper in half, remove the seeds and dice.
Heat the frying oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
When making batter, mix flour and corn starch. Stir the egg whites and vegetable oils. Add enough warm water as needed to form a thick batter that is neither too dry nor too wet. The batter should not be too thin, but it should drip from the back of the spoon.
Dip the marinated diced pork in the batter. Fry in batches, be careful not to be overcrowded. Fry the pork until golden brown. Take it out and dry it with a paper towel.
If necessary, you can fry the pork for the second time to make it particularly crisp. Before you start frying again, make sure the oil returns to 375 degrees.
When preparing sweet and sour sauce, put the sauce in a small pot and boil it over medium heat. Add carrots, green peppers and pineapples. Boil again, thicken with corn starch mixture and stir. Check the sauce again, adjust the seasoning, and add salt and/or vinegar if necessary. Serve the fried pork while it is hot. Serve sweet and sour pork and rice together.