Duck Duck Duck! Duck Is Coming!

Ducks are difficult to raise. That’s why some of us may rarely have duck on our dinner table. Another important reason is, not many cooks can cook delicious duck. So, the question today, how can we cook yummy duck?

Duck Confit/Confit de Canard in France

The dish was created before there was a refrigerator to preserve food. The duck leg is completely soaked in duck oil, and then stewed for 2 hours on low heat. Since the oil will solidify at low temperature, the duck leg will be completely sealed and isolated from the air. When it is time to eat, the duck leg is taken out and slightly fried before going to our dinner table, which makes the skin of the duck crispier than directly fried, and the meat will also be more tender than stewed.

Similarly in Sichuan, there is a dish which nearly has the same appearance as Duck Confit.

Sweet-skinned Duck

It’s a renowned dish in Sichuan cuisine: Sweet-skinned Duck! Originated in Pengshan District, Meishan City in Sichuan Province, and followed by the traditional cooking method for the “imperial cuisine” from the Qing Dynasty, the duck is strictly selected and cooked, not fat, not greasy but juicy, leaving a pleasant aftertaste.

As what the name tells, the skin of the duck is sweet and a little crispy, while the meat underneath is savoury and soft. It is deeply loved by citizens inside and outside the province.

Also, the dish is one of the cultural heritage items in China.

But Sichuanese people do have a knack for culinary innovation, they will never stop the step of creating more ways to cook one material. The same is true of duck in Instant Spicy Steampot, which is stemmed from hot pot, but the materials are already cooked and served as a dish. Foodies do not need to boil the materials by themselves.

Instant Spicy Duck Steampot

The traditional way of having Instant Spicy Steampot could not satisfy Sichuanese, so they started to think over how to improve its flavour. Based on their love of Peking Duck, combining Instant Spicy Steampot, Sichuanese finally invented Instant Spicy Duck Steampot, a creative dish with a totally different savoury. The roast duck is tender and soft, with a little spicy flavour which is helpful to stimulate your appetite, it will just melt in your mouth.

Instant Spicy Duck Steampot

Spicy Duck Neck

Eating duck neck, in Sichuan, is art. Gnawing away the fat around it, like a wolf, leaving bones and hard parts, ignoring the risk of getting stuck because of the bone, swallow it, and used your clever tongue and teeth to drag the meat off the bone. In particular, nibble the connection between the duck’s neck, and then suck the essence inside the duck bone with your tongue to stimulate your taste buds.

The core of the process is to suck the white spinal cord out of the bone.

Finally, a complete cervical spine is removed, and, the Sichuanese is like an anatomy teacher, going through countless steps and then get a clean bone that can even be used as a teaching specimen.

If you have tried some of them, please do tell us which one you like the most! If you haven’t… it’s time to pick a dish to have a try!

See you next time, and today, You Look Yummy!