Why did the Peking Duck cross the country?

Published July 29, 2014
A golden duck, representing the Peking Duck, on display in the museum at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A golden duck, representing the Peking Duck, on display in the museum at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A chef slicing Peking Duck for diners at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A chef slicing Peking Duck for diners at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A chef slicing Peking Duck for diners at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A chef slicing Peking Duck for diners at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
Clay figures portraying the production of Peking Duck, in the museum at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
Clay figures portraying the production of Peking Duck, in the museum at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A display outlines the history of the Peking Duck dish in the museum at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A display outlines the history of the Peking Duck dish in the museum at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
Diners enjoy a meal at the historic Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
Diners enjoy a meal at the historic Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A chef prepares Peking Duck at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A chef prepares Peking Duck at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A chef slicing Peking Duck for diners at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP
A chef slicing Peking Duck for diners at the Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. -Photo by AFP

Where does Peking Duck come from? It is a trick question: the dish named for China's capital has its origins in Nanjing, hundreds of kilometres to the south. The tidbit is one of the revelations in a museum opened earlier this month to mark the 150th anniversary of the Quanjude restaurant, now the seven-storey flagship of a chain with franchises as far away as Australia. Statues of roasters, photos of officials dining and menus going back 100 years trace the duck's route from humble waterfowl to culinary institution. No secret ingredients are revealed, but around 20 models detail each stage of the duck's journey to the plate. Slaughtered when it weighs around three kilos, pumped full of air to separate skin from fat, the bird is gutted and filled with boiling water to help a sweet basting syrup penetrate the meat before being dried, coated and roasted. A roast duck style was first developed in the court kitchens of Nanjing, China's then capital in the eastern province of Jiangsu, and the dish only came to Beijing when the Ming dynasty Yongle emperor moved his seat north in the 15th century.

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