The best and worst crispy duck pancakes for Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year kicks off on February 17, and many people around the world will welcome the year of the horse with a feast featuring Peking duck, an iconic dish symbolizing prosperity and good fortune. Most supermarkets sell ready-to-cook Peking duck with pancakes for encasing the shredded meat, and even a vegan version is available. Xanthe Clay, a food writer with 25 years of experience as a Telegraph columnist, chef, and writer, teamed up with chef Jeremy Pang to test seven supermarket offerings. They began with a positive mindset, as Pang points out that most chain restaurants source their duck from a single factory in west London, so the supermarket versions should be fine.
The key to good Peking duck, according to Pang, is well-flavored meat that shreds nicely rather than crumbling, soft but sturdy pancakes, and a sauce that's not too sweet or heavy on the Chinese five spice. Most of the products on test were hoisin sauce, but the traditional sauce is actually a sweet bean sauce, which has a flavor halfway between hoisin and yellow bean sauce. Pang explains that no five-spice is used in the sauce; it goes in the brine when preparing the duck, and it's whole spices, not the ground mix.
The shredded duck taste test revealed the following picks for all you lucky ducks:
Iceland Take Away Crispy Shredded Duck & 6 Pancakes: £4.00 for 230g. While the sauce is good, the portion is small and the flabby skin doesn't crisp up when heated.
Linda McCartney Vegetarian Shredded Hoisin Duck: £2.50 for 300g. A stir-fry option with a pale and less savory flavor, lacking crisp skin and containing ultra-processed ingredients.
Aldi Ready, set… cook! Crispy Aromatic Half Duck with Pancakes: £6.99 for 570g. The portion looks small and flat, but the sauce is nice, and the meat is serviceable.
Lidl Birchwood Crispy Duck Pancakes: £6.99 for 570g. Similar to the Aldi version, with a slightly better flavor, but lacking oomph.
Golden Lion Aromatic Half Crispy Duck with Hoisin Sauce & Pancakes: £7.75 for 570g. Similar to Lidl and Aldi's versions, making the extra 10% cost feel like a rip-off.
Gressingham Whole Aromatic Crispy Duck & Pancakes: £16.85 for 1.2kg. The meat crumbles into a paste rather than shredding, and it's bland, but the pancakes and sauce are decent.
Marks and Spencer Aromatic Half Duck: £12.50 for 750g. The best of the bunch, with great flavor, nice and crispy skin, and shreddable, juicy meat. The sauce could be thicker and less sweet, but it's outstanding.
