1 1/2 lb fatty, boneless pork
MARINADE
2 tbsp sherry
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 green onion, chopped fine
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp five spice powder
BATTER
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup beer (flat is ok)
Directions
Cut the pork into strips roughly 1/4 inch by three inches. Combine
marinade ingredients, and add pork. Marinate overnight.
Meanwhile, make the batter by mixing the flour and cornstarch. Beat
the egg well, and add to mixture, add the beer, and mix well. Make
this ahead of time and refrigerate a few hours-it can be made at the
same time as the marinade, and can also sit overnight.
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, take pork out of
marinade, and bake in a shalow pan for about an hour, turning
occasionally and stirring to separate the strips if necessary. Remove
from oven, cool to room temp., and blot off excess fat with a paper
towel.
In a wok, heavy pan, or electric skillet, heat 2 cups (at least) of
peanut oil to 375 degrees.
Give the batter a stir, and coat the pork strips with it. Deep fry
them, about 1/4 at a time, in the hot oil for about 30 seconds,
poking them a little bit to separate the strips. Allow the oil to
come back up to temperature in between batches. Drain the fried
strips well. You can do this before you're ready to serve, and reheat
if necessary.
Serve with a little hoisin sauce on the side.
The traditional way to serve real Peking duck is folded up in a peking
pancake with a little hoisin sauce and some shredded scallion. IMHO,
these pancakes are just too much trouble to make. If I feel like it,
I make mock Peking pancakes to go with the mock Peking duck. You do
it like this:
Get a pack of flour tortillas-the smaller "soft taco" or "fajita"
size. Brush one side of each very lightly with sesame oil. Put the
oiled sides together, so you've got a bunch of double tortillas,
stuck together with sesame oil in the middle.
On an ungreased pan, cook each tortilla "sandwich" briefly on both
sides (like you would heat a regular tortilla) for 10 seconds or so,
until they "puff up" slightly.
Take the tortillas, put them in one stack. Wrap in aluminum foil and
steam in a steamer for about 15 minutes. Separate them into
individual tortillas. You now have mock peking pancakes.
To serve them with the "duck," take a "pancake," smear with a little
hoisin sauce in the center. Take a little "duck", put in center, and
sprinkle with a little shredded scallion to taste. Fold up like a
miniture burrito, and eat.
Bill Shoemaker
Servings: 1 servings
Mock Peking Duck Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Duck; Meat; Poultry
The History of Recipes
It is possible to follow the history of `recipes` back into history, at least as far back into history as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and possibly even further. However, mostly, these ancient cookbooks were just very basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for food preparation.
In fact, the oldest recipe found, according to food historians is a series of tablets in Sumerian describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. Later on, in The time of the romans around 25BC a man called Apicius compiled a few scripts describing recipes prepared by the Romans. In his works, Apicius recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were divided into hors d`oeuvre, main course and afters, something we still use today. He also tells us how the chefs of Roman times used many herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs for example bay, mint and dill. Later, there are a couple of interesting books published in the 1300s ; a cookery book called `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these are not about the spicy food that is familiar to us all today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the nobility of that time. Later on in the 1400s, knights returning from the crusades brought us many foods and spices from the Middle-East, such as basil and coriander. These new herbs and spices caused an increase in manuscripts on cookery, most of which are kept safe in private collections. Like it or not, the introduction of TV gave us TV cookery programs and the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing us all to access thousands of recipes like those on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Mock Peking Duck recipe.
