Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Beijing Roast Duck (all of it)


A visit from important foreign guests to the institute warranted a trip to eat the all famous, “Beijing kao ya,” or Peking Roast Duck. Our group of ten headed to a famous roast duck restaurant near the Olympic village. The place was packed with waitresses in Qing Dynasty costumes with walki-talkies and headphones. The walls were covered in pictures of foreign guests and dignitaries that had dined there during the Olympics. I noted that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo represented the Philippines as well as one could with a whole naked duck in the foreground. We were ushered to the private “Putin room,” complete with Chinese and Russian flags as the table centerpiece and pictures of Vladimir Putin and his entourage enjoying roast duck. We ordered two entire ducks prepared with the “Putin” menu.

This restaurant was obviously still riding the Olympic theme. First to arrive on our table was a small plate of fried duck skin intricately woven into the shape of the neighboring Olympic bird nest. Next was a simulacrum of the Olympic aquatic center which took the form of duck skin chunks suspended in a rectangular mass of translucent gelatin. The jiggling mound was set atop a base with a blue twinkling light bulb making it glow aquamarine. I tried a cube as it glided past me on the rotating glass Lazy Susan. It tasted exactly like what you might expect if you ate a big spoon full of the semi-hardened grease that pools around your turkey a few days after Thanksgiving.

The waitress announced the name of each in Chinese as she placed them on the table. First was the usual, duck meat served with sweet hoisin (thick dark and sweet) sauce and spring onions all to be rolled up in thin crepe-like pancakes and eaten like tiny burritos. Undeniably delicious! Then, a plate of fleshy floppy “duck feet” arrived. With a little encouragement from my boss, the other American at the table and I lifted the wilted webbed bits of flesh from the plate with chop sticks, dipped them into mustard sauce, and plunged them into your mouths with a cringe. We both reached for our beer and gulped to forget the soft crunch of flavorless cartilage. I understood the next few dishes as announced, “duck liver,” “duck hearts cooked in Chinese white liquor,” “duck neck,” “boiled duck head,” (which was split in two for ease of eating I suppose). But then there was one dish announced that was beyond my vocabulary and visual identification. I turned to my boss and said, “I don’t’ know that one.” He laughed out loud and said, “And nor can I tell you.” There was an awkward silence as he thought for a moment and then said in English, “The Chinese have a special word for this too, “Duck Precious!”

I tried everything and at the same time tried not to think about what effect the layering of such new cuisine in my stomach might have later.

10 comments:

  1. "Duck Precious" is what remains in the duck bowell just before it is killed. This explains the awkward silence and the fancy name. Actually Europeans in the mid 1500's ate some of their own poop each day as a way to stay healthy. The 21 century Chinese are way to advanced for that so they just eat duck predroppings. Just a guess. Paul

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  2. Duck Precious??? What a cool name! I think it is a cuisine of duck blood and something else.

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  3. Duck Precious??? What a cool name! I think it is a cuisine of duck blood and something else.

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  4. Some of these restaurants also supply the dining tourist with a "ducktificate" a certificate of authenticity and orgin in case you want a keepsake of the event.

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  5. Undeniably Descriptive. I could almost feel the "soft crunch of flavorless cartilage" unfortunately no Tsing Toa around for me.

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  6. Yum - So you didn't try the "Duck Precious," I take it? I remember Terrie Scheckelhoff telling about her visit to China, and eating a welcome-dinner with some educational bigwigs - many strange preparations going round and round on the lazy susan. She remarked that a large number of the foods trotted out for the special people was considered exotic, uncommon for the Chinese themselves to eat, and mostly VERY foreign to Western tastes, in flavor, texture, and in provenance from the various animals. It sounds that she was accurate in this statement.

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  7. I did try the "Duck Precious!" But now I am confused as to what it actually is! I think I might have been mistaken...unless Paul is pulling my leg.

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  8. Oh, and yes, for formal occasions the extreme dishes that even Chinese don't often eat make an appearance. Just as in our culture, these tend to be specialty items with famous flavors,textures,or preparation methods (duck precious, sea cucumber, fish head, etc). Unfortunately, these efforts are not always appreciated because of cultural misunderstandings. For example, you might think to treat a Chinese guest to the best cheese available. But I doubt that he/she would appreciate or grasp the cultural significance of a moldy pungent aged 30 years cheese. It's ironic that the most awkward and embarrassing cultural misunderstandings happen at just the time when both parties are trying their hardest to impress and make things go smoothly.

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  9. Right about the cheese: a Chinese student I taught recently nearly gagged at any MENTION of cheese.

    BTW - What are the Chinese thinking/saying about tomorrow's Obama inauguration? It's really getting people rather excited here, with the change in mood springing from the change in president literally palpable.

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  10. Laura - The Duck Precious you mentioned, should be Duck Gizzard, which is very common in Chinese food. Gizzard (胗), pronounces the same in Chinese as Precious (珍).

    Regret we were unable to get together while I was in Beijing - we tried. Hopefully next time I am there we'll find time.

    I am back in Ohio enjoying the lazy later spring here.

    Joe Liu

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