Unlike in most previous episodes, this episode opens with Chen in the dining area at table. "Welcome to my dining room," she announces and shows off the four most famous preparations of duck in China: Peking, Shanghai (otherwise known as red-cooked duck), Cantonese and Chunking (otherwise known as Szechuan). Of these, Peking duck is the most famous. Chen pulls out a map of China to explain the diversity of duck dishes. China is a big country and traditionally that meant problems in the transport of foodstuffs, so each region tended to develop its own modes of cooking. Moreover, recipes weren't written down but passed down from elders through the generations. Peking is in Communist China: it's, Chen notes, where Mao lives and it's where Chen herself was born. In previous centuries, it was the home of royalty and this meant dishes rich in a variety of ingredients and of the highest quality. In reference to the royal court, this region is also known as "Mandarin" China. Shanghai tends to specialize in home-cooked duck with soy and sweetness derived from sugar. Cantonese is the most Westernized cuisine. Duck there can even be prepared with coconut and pineapple. Cantonese cuisine, Chen asserts, is very delicious and very healthy. Szechuan cuisine developed most during the second world war when people fled to the moments to escape Japanese rule. The heat and high altitude encouraged food that was spicy. It is also a region much devoted to pickling. Peking, as noted, has the most famous duck preparation. It is distinctive and delicious with crispy skin and moist meat. Although it is most easily made in restaurants, Chen will show how to prepare a home-made version. Chen goes to the kitchen and shows off a Long Island duck, the version of duck available in the U.S. that is most like Peking duck. When its feathers are on, it is a very pretty bird. In its last months, it is force fed to fatten up just as, Chen mentions, the French fatten up geese for foie-gras. When the ducks are fattened enough, they are transported to market in individual cages (so that one doesn't step on another and bruise its skin). Chen displays a drawing she herself made from memory of such a cage and apologizes for her supposed poorness in drawing. To get crispy skin, the skin first needs to be separated from the duck body. The Chinese have special pumps for this, but Chen suggests that an American bought bicycle pump would work just as well. She goes over to the floor near the refrigerator and puts the duck on a wide board that has been placed there. She starts pumping into a cut in the neck and as the duck expands, she observes, "Isn't that interesting?" From a cut under the wing, one removes the insides of the duck and then rinses the carcass. Chen admits that the pumping made her a bit out of breath and she needs to catch up. She removes the wing tips and feet from the duck and shows how to insert a thick stick inside the carcass to keep it stretched out. She again admits to being out of breath and laughs at herself, only to snap back quickly into a serious look. The duck needs two more rinsings: one in boiling hot water and one in water sweetened with sugar. Sticks are used to prop the wings up and then the duck can be hung up to dry. Chen goes over to the lattice work that surrounds the dining area. There a duck has already been hanging for a while and she adds the newly prepared carcass to the lattice. Water should be placed inside the duck to moisten the interior meat while the skin crisps. Chen announces that she will now move to the dining area to show the authentic way to serve Peking duck. Normally, it should be eaten right after it comes out of the oven but her duck (which she showed off in the first scene of the episode) has already been out of the oven for a while so its skin is already a bit shriveled. Typically, the skin is eaten with sauce and scallions inside a Mandarin pancake. The meat is mixed with bean sprouts and also eaten inside pancakes. The fat is saved for cooking eggs, and the duck bones can go into a soup. Thus, one can get an entire meal from a duck. In Peking, many restaurants specialize in duck. Traditionally, the Chinese didn't have ovens so they would go out for Peking duck. In the U.S., there are ovens so it is possible to do duck at home although one problem is that American ducks are often sold without the head and with, in consequence, a big hole into the neck cavity, meaning that it is hard to pump the skin and hard to fill up the cavity to moisten the meat. It's better to get a whole frozen duck and Chen promises in the next episode (or perhaps a later, upcoming one) to show how to cook frozen duck. With luck, one can make what one might call an "American Peking duck" as authentic as the ones found actually in Peking. Chen signs off.