Beijing Roast Duck

4 servings

Ingredients:
1 4-1/2 to 5 lb duck
1 ts Salt
8 Green onions or scallions
2 (1/4 in.) sliced gingeroot
3 tb Honey
2 tb Cornstarch
1 sm Can plum sauce

Pancakes:
2 c flour,
1 c boiling water,
2 T dark sesame oil

Preparation:
A day in advance, clean duck inside & out, dry thoroughly. Season inside with salt. Tie together stem ends of 2 green onions, place inside duck cavity with gingeroot. Bring edges of tail opening together, stitch with a length of fine wire. Attach another wire to neck as a handle. Mix 1 qt. water with honey in large wok or small turkey roasting pan, bring to boil. When boiling, stir in cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water. Continue to stir to consistency of a thin stream. Lower heat. Holding duck by neck wire, dip into honey mixture 3-4 times to coat on all sides. Remove duck, suspend over container in cool place. Set an electric fan towards duck to help dry the skin. Let duck drip-dry overnight.

Next day: preheat oven to 450 F. Place duck breast side up on flat rack in roasting pan. Roast 30 minute. Reduce heat to 300 F, turn duck over. Roast 30 more minutes. Turn duck breast side up again, roast for final 30 minutes.

Thinly slice stems of remaining 6 onions into 2-in. diagonal strips. Divide sliced onion between 4 butter plates, place 1 tsp. plum sauce on each plate. Prepare duck for serving by cutting off drumsticks & wings & placing on platter in position whole duck should be. Carefully slice off all skin pieces of about 1 and 2 inches, lay them aside. Slice same size pieces of meat from bone. Place all carved meat on platter, cover with skin pieces on outside to make presentation look like a whole duck.

Each diner rolls a bit of meat, a bit of skin, and a scallion/onion length into a pancake that has been spread with about a teaspoon of plum sauce and eats the mess with fingers.

Preparation of pancakes:
Add water to flour in a bowl and work with a wooden spoon into a dough. Knead 10 min. and let rest for 10 min.

Form into a long roll about 2" in diameter. Cut into 1/2" pieces and flatten to 1/4". Brush a little oil over a piece of dough and lay another piece over it. Roll out with rolling pin, slowly and from the center out, until the piece is 4" or more in diameter. Proceed until all dough is rolled out.

Heat ungreased griddle over low flame and add dough circle. When it bubbles slightly, turn it over and heat the other side. While it is still warm, pull apart the two halves and fold at the center with the greased side inside. Repeat with remaining dough circles.

Steam for 10 min. before using as above.