Peking Dust Glazed Fruit Recipes

GLAZED FRUIT MEDLEY

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, mix the orange juice, sugar and cornstarch until smooth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Transfer to a small bowl; cool slightly. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours., Just before serving, combine the fruit in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with orange juice mixture; toss gently to coat.

PEKING DUST: GLAZED FRUIT

Steps:

• 1. Shell and blanch almonds. Peel oranges and separate into segments. Rub a serving platter generously with peanut oil. 2. Combine sugar, water and light corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring, over medium heat. 3. Dip nuts and fruit, one piece at a time, into the syrup to coat. Place on the oiled serving platter to cool and harden. The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

GLAZED FRUIT

Steps:

• Insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into the base of each small fruit. Cut off one end of the grapefruit to make a flat base, then pierce 50 small holes in the grapefruit to hold the toothpicks for display. Line a baking sheet with a piece of waxed paper.
• In a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the sugar, the water, and the cream of tartar to a boil. Brush down the sides of the pan two times with a pastry brush dipped in warm water to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. Cook the mixture without stirring until it registers 240°F on a sugar thermometer, then add the lemon juice. Brush down the sides of the pan two more times and continue cooking the mixture until it registers 310°F on the thermometer.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Holding a small fruit by the toothpick, dip the fruit into the sugar syrup, coating it completely. Lift the fruit from the syrup, gently shake off the excess syrup, and place the fruit onto the waxed paper. Repeat with the remaining small fruit. If the sugar syrup begins to firm up while you are working, warm it over medium heat until it is liquid again. Let the glaze set up at room temperature (about 10 minutes).
• Place the toothpicks into the holes in the grapefruit. Keep the fruit at room temperature until serving time. Serve the fruit within 12 hours of preparation.

PEKING DUCK WITH HONEY AND FIVE-SPICE GLAZE

Steps:

• Combine honey, soy sauce, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
• In a large saucepan, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Meanwhile, remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard (or reserve for another use). Cut off excess fat from cavity and neck area, then cut off tail. (This helps balance the duck vertically over the beer can.)
• Using your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the breast meat through the bottom of the breasts and work your fingers upward to separate the skin from the meat (be careful not to tear skin). Next, separate the skin from the backbone through the neck and working your way down until you reach the legs. (Scissors are helpful, but be careful to avoid piercing the skin.) Transfer duck to a rack set in the sink.
• Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour half of the boiling water evenly over top of the duck. Flip duck and pour the remaining water evenly all over second side. Tilt duck to drain all water from the cavity, then pat dry with paper towels.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder with 1 teaspoon salt, the black pepper and 1 tablespoon of the glaze. Rub the mixture inside the cavity. Stand duck vertically by inserting beer can into cavity and place in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Using a pastry brush, brush the remaining glaze all over the duck and sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Place duck in the refrigerator, uncovered, until the skin feels dry and leathery, 24 hours.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees with rack in bottom third of oven. Remove duck from refrigerator, and add 1 1/2 cups water to the pan. Wrap wing tips and tips of drumsticks with foil to prevent burning, then loosely tent duck with foil. Roast for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 350 degrees and roast, tented with foil, until skin is mahogany and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes more, adding more water to the pan if needed.
• Leaving duck on the can, transfer duck vertically to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve the crispy skin from the back and legs of the duck, and slice into strips.
• Carefully remove duck from the beer can and return to cutting board. Carve off the breasts and legs; thinly slice the breasts and shred dark meat.
• Carefully strain pan juices into a small bowl and pour off all the fat. In another small bowl, whisk together the hoisin, sesame oil and up to 1/4 cup of the pan juices to form sauce.
• To serve, spread 1 tablespoon prepared sauce on each tortilla. Top each with some scallions, cucumbers, duck meat and crispy skin. Roll up and enjoy warm.