CHINESE GASTRONOMY–BEIJING DUCK

By Ina Stasevic, Beijing, China



It is unthinkable to travel in China without visiting one of the many restaurants that serve a gastronomic specialty known as Beijing duck. It is a very popular dish in China and it is prepared in a special way. The duck is filled with broth, all the openings are closed, and then it is roasted on the outside, while actually cooking on the inside at the same time. Towards the end of the roasting, the duck meat is coated with honey and spices so that it gets a shine as if the surface was lacquered. Hence the French name "lacquered duck". While eating this dish, the skin simply melts in the mouth, and the meat itself is soft and delicious. I had this in mind when I set off on my trip to ancient China, rich in gastronomy.​

And here I am in Beijing. Walking through the oldest park in Beijing (built in 1530) seems very relaxing to me. There are always a lot of people in the park, mostly senior citizens, practicing Tai qi, singing, or playing the very popular Mahjong game. With a leisurely walk, I reached the shining black and red ambience, a restaurant of traditional Chinese gastronomy. At the entrance to the restaurant, the staff greeted me with a wide smile and immediately served me a glass of hot water, offering me to drink it for refreshment! A bit strange for Western culture, but deeply connected to traditional Chinese medicine, according to which hot water removes moisture from the body, and is believed to regulate blood circulation and blood pressure. This helps to detoxify the body and relax the muscles. The main ingredients of Chinese cuisine are different types of meat, seafood (shrimp fried in a pan...), vegetables, stewed tofu, soups with long handmade noodles, rice and many spices. In addition to rice, the Chinese also love steamed dough with different contents in different forms. In Chinese, these are well-known and very popular jaoze (dough with beef and peanuts, with mushrooms, cabbage, pineapple and lotus). Each type of dish is well balanced and has a subtle taste.

The most common alcoholic drink is beer. Rice wine, a Chinese wine specialty, is also popular. Tea is still the most famous and widespread Chinese drink, which is served on every occasion and is usually drunk with a meal, sometimes softening its taste. Green tea and jasmine tea are particularly popular. While I was sitting in the restaurant eating delicious duck meat, my cup of jasmine tea was always full, and the restaurant staff took care of that. The Chinese drink tea with every meal in unlimited quantities. They use tea to soften the spiciness of some dishes.