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Winter delicacy that benefits from being hung out to dry
By Xu Wenwen |
December 6, 2012, Thursday
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FROM a large vessel filled with soy sauce, Hangzhou resident Qiu Yinhua removes a duck, then another, pulls strings through their beaks and hangs them from a bamboo pole out of her window. From neighbors' windows hang other ducks, some still dripping sauce.
Jiang ya (酱鸭), literally meaning soy sauce duck, is a traditional Hangzhou delicacy, especially in winter. Many people make the dish at this time of year as it keeps better in low temperatures.
The jiang ya "season" begins after Light Snow - a Chinese solar date falling on November 22 or 23 - as the weather's getting cold by then.
In past times, every household made soy sauce duck. Then they just cut pieces from the carcass and steamed it - a great cold dish for winter meals.
The duck tastes salty and chewy, the skin is a bit greasy, perfectly balancing the meat texture. And to top it all off, jiang ya has a mouth-watering soy sauce and duck aroma.
"I've been making soy sauce duck every winter since I married in my early 20s. My family love it and it's a tradition that I never think about giving up," says 69-year-old Qiu.
However, few young people now make their own jiang ya. "They're busy. I understand," Qiu says.
Every year, Qiu makes about 10 soy sauce ducks, some for her family and some as gifts for friends. "Actually, it's not hard to make," she says. "All you need is patience - and some sunshine!"
The authentic way of making Hangzhou soy sauce duck is to, firstly, kill and clean a duck and hang it for two to three hours. Then marinate the duck in soy sauce, to which can be added pepper, ginger, rice wine and other seasonings. The entire duck should be submerged in the sauce, and the container covered to keep out air and bacteria.
After three or four days, by which time the bird has fully absorbed the sauce, it's time to hang the duck outdoors to dry in the sun and air for about a week.
"In my experience, half a day of sunshine and half day of air drying is best," says Qiu. "Too long marinating and the meat will be too salty; too long drying in the sun and meat will be dry and tough."
When served, locals usually cut the duck in half, using half and keeping the remainder for later. They cut the half they are using into slices and steam it. The surface of the duck skin should be dark and glossy, the grease transparent red and the lean meat dark red with texture.
No one takes a big bite of soy sauce duck, because, firstly, it's salty and secondly, the meat's on bone.
So eating is a slow ritual: it starts with carefully nibbling at the skin and meat on the bone, ripping the meat from the bone; then diners chew on the al dente skin, tough meat and dried transparent grease between the skin and meat, all of which have a strong sauce fragrance.
Not only ducks are prepared in this way. Pork and fish also feature on Hangzhou people's jiang huo - soy sauce food - list.
Jiang huo, whatever kind, is great for soups and steaming with bamboo shoots and potatoes.
"I suggest people make their own jiang huo, because it is fun and you can make your favorite type," says Chen Haifu, who runs a small restaurant in Maojiabu Town, a Hangzhou scenic area famed for its tea.
"Big restaurants don't necessarily make the best soy sauce duck," adds Chen who has been making soy sauce duck for almost 20 years.
The quality of soy sauce duck depends on the quality of the ingredients, the marinating and the drying time, says Chen.
Big restaurants turning out lots of ducks may add MSG to the sauce, and dry the ducks in warm environments rather than outdoors to have them ready quicker.
These days, many "happy farmer houses" - small restaurants and hostels run by local farmers - in Hangzhou's scenic sites around the West Lake serve jiang huo.
Sheng Rui, 60, a native and resident of Maojiabu Town, says that Hangzhou people like soy sauce duck so much because in the old days farmers there planted lots of rice, and the wet paddy fields were ideal for raising ducks.
"People were poor, and to eke out a duck, people made salty jiang ya. Two pieces of meat were enough for one person to take with a bowl of rice," he recalls.
"Even in 1980s when the economy got better, a soy sauce duck remained a nice gift to friends and relatives, and women would compare who made better soy sauce duck."
Though jiang huo is now available in supermarkets, Sheng believes that one day young people will rediscover the art of making soy sauce ducks.
"Home-made food tastes best. When we get older and are no longer making jiang ya for our children anymore, then they'll realize how tasty it is and start making it themselves."
Jiang ya (酱鸭), literally meaning soy sauce duck, is a traditional Hangzhou delicacy, especially in winter. Many people make the dish at this time of year as it keeps better in low temperatures.
The jiang ya "season" begins after Light Snow - a Chinese solar date falling on November 22 or 23 - as the weather's getting cold by then.
In past times, every household made soy sauce duck. Then they just cut pieces from the carcass and steamed it - a great cold dish for winter meals.
The duck tastes salty and chewy, the skin is a bit greasy, perfectly balancing the meat texture. And to top it all off, jiang ya has a mouth-watering soy sauce and duck aroma.
"I've been making soy sauce duck every winter since I married in my early 20s. My family love it and it's a tradition that I never think about giving up," says 69-year-old Qiu.
However, few young people now make their own jiang ya. "They're busy. I understand," Qiu says.
Every year, Qiu makes about 10 soy sauce ducks, some for her family and some as gifts for friends. "Actually, it's not hard to make," she says. "All you need is patience - and some sunshine!"
The authentic way of making Hangzhou soy sauce duck is to, firstly, kill and clean a duck and hang it for two to three hours. Then marinate the duck in soy sauce, to which can be added pepper, ginger, rice wine and other seasonings. The entire duck should be submerged in the sauce, and the container covered to keep out air and bacteria.
After three or four days, by which time the bird has fully absorbed the sauce, it's time to hang the duck outdoors to dry in the sun and air for about a week.
"In my experience, half a day of sunshine and half day of air drying is best," says Qiu. "Too long marinating and the meat will be too salty; too long drying in the sun and meat will be dry and tough."
When served, locals usually cut the duck in half, using half and keeping the remainder for later. They cut the half they are using into slices and steam it. The surface of the duck skin should be dark and glossy, the grease transparent red and the lean meat dark red with texture.
No one takes a big bite of soy sauce duck, because, firstly, it's salty and secondly, the meat's on bone.
So eating is a slow ritual: it starts with carefully nibbling at the skin and meat on the bone, ripping the meat from the bone; then diners chew on the al dente skin, tough meat and dried transparent grease between the skin and meat, all of which have a strong sauce fragrance.
Not only ducks are prepared in this way. Pork and fish also feature on Hangzhou people's jiang huo - soy sauce food - list.
Jiang huo, whatever kind, is great for soups and steaming with bamboo shoots and potatoes.
"I suggest people make their own jiang huo, because it is fun and you can make your favorite type," says Chen Haifu, who runs a small restaurant in Maojiabu Town, a Hangzhou scenic area famed for its tea.
"Big restaurants don't necessarily make the best soy sauce duck," adds Chen who has been making soy sauce duck for almost 20 years.
The quality of soy sauce duck depends on the quality of the ingredients, the marinating and the drying time, says Chen.
Big restaurants turning out lots of ducks may add MSG to the sauce, and dry the ducks in warm environments rather than outdoors to have them ready quicker.
These days, many "happy farmer houses" - small restaurants and hostels run by local farmers - in Hangzhou's scenic sites around the West Lake serve jiang huo.
Sheng Rui, 60, a native and resident of Maojiabu Town, says that Hangzhou people like soy sauce duck so much because in the old days farmers there planted lots of rice, and the wet paddy fields were ideal for raising ducks.
"People were poor, and to eke out a duck, people made salty jiang ya. Two pieces of meat were enough for one person to take with a bowl of rice," he recalls.
"Even in 1980s when the economy got better, a soy sauce duck remained a nice gift to friends and relatives, and women would compare who made better soy sauce duck."
Though jiang huo is now available in supermarkets, Sheng believes that one day young people will rediscover the art of making soy sauce ducks.
"Home-made food tastes best. When we get older and are no longer making jiang ya for our children anymore, then they'll realize how tasty it is and start making it themselves."
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