2011 Oct 19 Scandalicious: ‘Quan-booba’ ducks and tarnished trotters
Don't know about you, but there's something juicy about a good food scandal. In a country this stomach obsessed, it never ceases to amaze the ingenious depths folks will sink to in order to make a buck. Some schemes are merciful flashes in the pan like the cardboard baozi plot; others ongoing and endemic, like the ever present menace of reclaimed sewer oil.
Recently there's been some closure on an ongoing case of straight-up, bare-faced counterfeiting. No, not North Face jackets or DVDs ... Peking duck. A group of fakers (let's call them a scandal cell) were charged last week for selling counterfeit quackers at Qianmen, Xidan and some railway stations. This begs the question – how the hell do you fake a duck?
Well, our intrepid band of entrepreneurs used a meat factory in Hebei to ‘assemble’ a bird from duck bones and unwanted offal, wrapping it all up and conning people into thinking they were buying a whole roast duck. Kong, a man from Dongcheng District involved in the scam, said it only cost RMB 3 to make a fake duck and they could be sold from RMB 15-58. Smart, huh? According to the Global Times, the authorities confiscated 11,800 bags of knockoff ducks from two residences, which presumably equates to at least double the number of fake ducks. Did they really think they'd get away with it?
I have a theory on this. If you’ve ever tasted the sort of gift box ducks commonly available at railway station kiosks (I have, unfortunately), most people would be hard pushed to tell the difference between the real thing and a bag of bones and offal.
Across town in Tongzhou District, another scandal is afoot. Pig feet, to be precise. The ever vigilant Global Times noted that traders were artificially ‘beautifying’ pig’s trotters in giant, toxic baths of caustic soda, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium nitrite, to make them whiter and heavier. I think you’d need to do a lot more than that to make a severed pig’s foot look pretty, but there you go. Anyway, 500kg of the tainted trotters were sold into smaller markets, so shop safely. Or better yet, become vegan. And grow your own.
You might also be interested in :
Crazy Music, Crazy Ducks
We all know ducks can swim because of that coating of oil on their feathers. But did you know that music can be hazardous to duck health? Read on to learn more.
2011: A Year in Food (Scandals)
Ketchup made from kitten paws, wig-wearing hairy crabs, sewer chuan’r … are these just some of the food scandals we can look forward to in 2012, or are they the ravings of a paranoid lunatic? (Ravings). But we can surely all be forgiven for fearing the worst after such a scandalicious (my word) 2011.
An article on Baidu Beat has rounded up the Top 10 Food Safety Issues of 2011. Here’s our summary of their list:
1. Toxic plasticizer in Taiwanese sports drinks, tea, jams and jellies.2. Diet pills for pigs – chemical additives that increase lean meat in swine, unsurprisingly not very good for humans
.3. Gutter oil – recycled cooking oil (sometimes literally scooped from the sewers) and re-boiled. In September, a Chinese journalist following the case was found stabbed to death.
12 Ducks of Christmas: Give Some Skin This Festive Season
What better gift for your true love this season than a Peking duck (roasted over) a pear tree (fire)? The empress of courtly roasts beats a stuffed turkey any day of the year. To celebrate the dish Beijing gave the world, check out our wholly subjective list of what we consider to be the best dozen ducks in the city.
Beijing's Newest Food Street Open for Business
Over the last few months, the former hutong area to the east of Qianmen Dajie has started to come to life. Xianyukou (Fresh Fish Crossroads) officially ‘reopened’ back in May, but it’s only now that the former food street is starting to buzz with restaurants, snack shops, market stalls and the like. Let's take a look!
Bianyifang (Beijing’s oldest roast duckery), has returned to somewhere approximating its former perch on Xianyukou. It’s a beast of a place – 7000 square meters and can sit 1000 diners at a time, although for now only the front bit is open.
Even if you're not in the mood to sample kaoya cooked in closed ovens (a method that predates the Quanjude hanging technique) it's worth popping into the lobby to see the fancy holographic display showing the history of this banquet dish.
Capital Bites: South Beauty Exposé, Happy Birthday Lily's and How to Eat a Mooncake
Yet another food scandal! South Beauty, known for their upscale locations and kicky Sichuan food (not to mention multiple wins in the "Best Sichuan" category in our Reader Restaurant Awards), was investigated by an undercover reporter, with disturbing results. Lack of utensil sanitation, passing off dead fish as live, "fresh" juice made from concentrate and waitstaff stealing food are just some of the distasteful details revealed. Better to opt for Chuan Ban, methinks.
Jerry
Re: Scandalicious: ‘Quan-booba’ ducks and tarnished ...
For the record, the cardboard baozi story was apparently a hoax (jury's still out on this one, though), but I still wouldn't touch the street variety with a ten-foot pole.
Jerry Chan, Editorial Director