Peking duck with mandarin-style pancakes

Toast the cinnamon, clove, fennel seed and Szechuan peppercorn in a dry skillet until fragrant, smash the cinnamon sticks and grind everything to a fine powder.

In a medium bowl combine four tablespoons soy sauce, two tablespoons honey, grated ginger and garlic, two teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar and two teaspoons sesame seed oil.

Whisk in a tablespoon of chili garlic sauce, two tablespoons smooth peanut butter, a few pinches of five spice, ground pepper and two tablespoons brown sugar, adding cornstarch to thicken as necessary.

Put about half the hoisin sauce into the duck cavity and stitch it closed with a bamboo skewer, wrapping the skin around the skewer for each stitch.

Inflate the duck through the neck skin with an air compressor to separate the skin from the meat.

Bring about four cups of water, a quarter cup of soy sauce and a few whole five-spice spices to a boil, hold the duck over the pot and ladle the liquid over the skin until golden and tight.

Rest uncovered in the fridge at least one day and up to three, or dry the skin with a hair dryer as a shortcut.

Roast at 350F for one to one and a half hours.

Add two thirds of a cup of boiling water to 10 ounces of all-purpose flour, mix to a shaggy dough, turn out and knead until smooth and supple.

Roll into a two-inch log, divide into 24 pieces and divide each again in half, keeping the rest under plastic.

Roll two pieces to about three-inch rounds, brush one with a light film of sesame seed oil, sandwich them and roll out to a seven to nine-inch pancake.

Toast each pancake in a dry pan until light brown spots form.

Carve the duck, remove wings and legs and slice the breast meat into about half inch slices.

Fill a pancake with duck, thinly sliced cucumber and scallions and top with reserved hoisin sauce.