Chinese Peking duck dinner

This mouth-watering main course is packed full of flavour and it will soon have your guests asking for seconds.

And if you'd rather experience this dish made by the experts, you'll have the chance to tuck into this rich and indulgent offering as part of the Inspirational China tour.

SERVES 4

YOU WILL NEED

• 1.8kg duck
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp clear honey
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 150ml Shaohsing Rice Wine or Dry Sherry
• 20 ready-made Chinese pancakes
• Spring onions, sliced into matchsticks
• Hoisin sauce

METHOD

1. Place the lemon, honey, soy sauce and rice wine into a large pan with 1.2 litres water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 20 mins.
2. Rinse the duck well, and blot dry with kitchen paper. Place on a rack in a roasting tin. Use a ladle to pour the syrup over the duck several times until the skin is completely coated on all sides. Leave it to dry out, uncovered, in the fridge overnight. When the duck has dried, the skin should feel like parchment paper.
3. Heat oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. Sit the duck breast-side up on the rack in the roasting tin. Add 150ml water to the tin to prevent the fat from spattering. Roast in the oven for 15 mins. Reduce the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and continue to roast for 1 hr 10 mins.
4. Remove the duck from the oven and leave it to sit for at least 10 mins before carving. Use a sharp knife to cut the skin and meat into pieces. Arrange on a warm serving platter, or alternatively, you may wish to shred the meat using two forks.
5. Serve immediately with the pancakes, spring onions and a bowl of hoisin sauce.