Crispy Duck in the UK: what it is, how to order it, where to find it
Quick answer
Crispy aromatic duck is the British Chinese restaurant's version of Peking duck: five-spice duck steamed until tender then fried until crisp, shredded, and eaten in thin pancakes with hoisin, cucumber and spring onion. Quarter-duck to share, it is one of the most ordered things on the UK menu, and though it is a local invention, done well it is genuinely good.
Calories and nutrition
- Calories
- 550
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Salt
- 2.4 g
420–700 kcal
Portion: Quarter duck with pancakes, per person about 4 pancakes.
The skin carries the fat; hoisin adds sugar. A shared starter, lighter per person than it looks.
Estimates for a typical portion, based on standard UK and USDA food composition data. Actual values depend on the recipe and the restaurant.
What crispy aromatic duck is
A duck is marinated in five-spice, star anise, ginger and soy, steamed for a couple of hours until the meat is falling apart, then deep-fried or roasted hard until the skin and edges crisp. It is shredded at the table or in the kitchen and served with warm thin pancakes, a dish of hoisin sauce, and batons of cucumber and spring onion. You build your own: a pancake, a smear of hoisin, some duck, cucumber and spring onion, rolled up. It is ordered as a quarter, half or whole duck to share, usually as a starter. It differs from Peking duck, which is roasted whole and carved in slices of crisp skin rather than shredded.
How to judge it
The duck should be crisp at the edges and moist inside, aromatic with five-spice, and there should be enough pancakes, cucumber and spring onion to match the meat. Greasy, soft, under-seasoned duck, or too few pancakes, are the common failings. It should come hot. Most Cantonese and general Chinese restaurants do a reliable version; it is hard to make badly if the duck is fresh.
How to eat it
Do not overfill the pancake or it will not roll. A little hoisin goes a long way; too much drowns the duck. Half a duck feeds two generously as a starter, a whole one a table. It is a communal, hands-on dish, which is part of the appeal.
Where it is done well in the UK
Almost every Chinese restaurant offers it; the Cantonese ones do it best. Our directory lists areas with the most Chinese restaurants.
How to order it
Order a quarter or half crispy duck to share as a starter. Do not overfill the pancakes and go easy on the hoisin. It should be crisp-edged and hot. For the roasted, table-carved version, look for 'Peking duck' proper, often ordered in advance.
Where it's done well
UK councils with the most crispy duck specialists, by restaurant name, in our directory.
Restaurants near you
Search by postcode or use your location to find restaurants likely to serve crispy duck near you.
Make it at home
Serves 4 · 150 min
Ingredients
- 4 duck legs or 1 whole duck
- 2 tbsp five-spice
- 2 star anise, a thumb of ginger
- 2 tbsp soy, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, salt
- Chinese pancakes, hoisin sauce, cucumber batons, spring onion to serve
Method
- Rub the duck with five-spice, soy, wine and salt, and steam with the star anise and ginger for two hours until very tender.
- Pat dry and roast at 220°C, or deep-fry, until the skin is crisp.
- Shred the meat and skin with two forks.
- Warm the pancakes and serve the duck with hoisin, cucumber and spring onion for everyone to wrap their own.
Steaming first makes the meat tender; the final high heat crisps it. Dry the skin well before crisping.