Langu Tea-Smoked Goose 岚谷熏鹅
Langu Tea-Smoked Goose is featured among the local specialties of Fujian.
Langu Tea-Smoked Goose (岚谷熏鹅) is a whole goose braised and then smoked over toasted glutinous rice and tea in Langu Township (岚谷乡), Wuyishan (武夷山), in north-western Fujian. It is made from the Minbei white goose (闽北白鹅), a breed that has lived in Langu for more than 400 years.
How it is made
Makers look for free-range Minbei white geese about a hundred days old and weighing around three kilograms, known locally as "hundred-day geese" (百日鹅) that graze water plants on the creek banks and drink mountain spring water.
The plucked and cleaned bird goes into the pot whole and is braised until about 70 to 80 percent cooked. After draining, it is rubbed all over with a home-made spicy sauce, pepper salt, ginger, garlic and other seasonings. Glutinous rice is then toasted over a low fire until it smokes, the goose is set on a bamboo rack above it, and cassia leaves (桂叶) and tea leaves are scattered in to smoke the meat until it turns amber. A bowl of Langu dongniang (岚谷冬酿), a farmhouse wine, is poured around the edge of the pan to finish, and the smell of the wine rises with the smell of the meat. At a 2025 technique contest in Wuyishan, contestants demonstrated the key steps as marinating, braising and smoking.
Flavour and texture
The Wuyishan city gazetteer (武夷山市志) describes smoked goose as golden outside, glossy with fat and smoky, with smooth skin and firm, crisp meat, and names Langu's as the best. In country-food restaurants in Wuyishan it arrives chopped into pieces coated in red chilli powder, with crisp skin and tender meat. The chilli heat comes first; after it come a light sweetness, a tea note and the warm scent of cassia. Minbei Daily sums up the flavour as salty, hot, fresh and fragrant.
Where it comes from
Minbei Daily retells the dish's traditional history. The Southern Song scholar Zhu Xi (朱熹) is said to have served guests smoked goose with tea. In the Jiajing reign of the Ming, Li Shilong (李士龙), an education official of Jianzhou (建州), wrote the line "天下一味数熏鹅" ("of all the world's flavours, smoked goose comes first"). Tea traders crossing the old Wuyi mountain roads in the Ming and Qing carried air-dried Langu smoked goose in their packs.
Langu Tea-Smoked Goose was among Wuyishan's first municipal intangible-heritage items in 2008, received a national geographical-indication certification mark in 2014, entered the list of Fujian's ten classic dishes in 2018, and its making technique joined the provincial intangible-heritage list in 2022.
How it is eaten
In Langu the smoked goose is the fixed centrepiece of the New Year's Eve dinner. Villagers choose goslings around the ninth lunar month so the birds are ready for the table at the New Year. The goose is also paired with Da Hong Pao (大红袍) tea, and some Wuyishan hotels build a "Wuyi goose banquet" of more than ten goose dishes around it.
More dishes to compare
Explore related local specialties and compare their names, preparation notes and ordering guidance.
Jian'ou Pressed Duck 建瓯板鸭 →
Both are cured poultry from Nanping prefecture in northern Fujian: Jianou's is a pressed duck, while Langu's is a goose braised and then smoked over rice and tea.
Questions before you order
Where does the tea in Langu Tea-Smoked Goose come in?
Tea leaves are scattered over toasted glutinous rice to smoke the braised goose, and the finished goose is eaten with Da Hong Pao tea. Minbei Daily also retells the story that Zhu Xi served guests smoked goose with tea.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-23. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.