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Peking Duck
北京烤鸭 · Běijīng Kǎoyā
Roasted duck with crisp skin, served sliced with thin pancakes, scallions, cucumber and sweet bean sauce.
Peking duck involves air-drying a whole duck for 24+ hours, then roasting it (traditionally in a wood-fired oven, modern commercial versions in gas) until the skin lacquers crisp. The chef typically slices the duck tableside, presenting first the prized skin (a wedge of pure crackling), then thin meat slices. Eaten by spreading sweet bean sauce on a thin wheat pancake, adding a piece of duck plus shredded scallion and cucumber, then rolling.
Where to try
Beijing: Quanjude (the largest chain, 1864-founded), Bianyifang (older, 1416-founded), Da Dong (modern fine-dining version).
Dietary notes
Duck, wheat, soy.
Cities to try Peking Duck
Other north dishes
- Beijing Lamb Hot Pot涮羊肉
Beijing-Mongolian style hot pot — clear broth, thinly-sliced lamb, sesame-paste dipping sauce.
- Boiled Dumplings (Shuijiao)水饺
Wheat-wrapper dumplings filled with pork-and-cabbage, lamb-and-leek, or vegetable, boiled and served with vinegar.
- Cat's Ear Noodles猫耳朵
Small thumbnail-pinched Shanxi pasta, shaped like cat's ears. Stir-fried with vegetables or in soup.
- Goubuli Baozi狗不理包子
Tianjin's signature steamed pork buns. The original house, founded 1858, is still operating.