Nan'an Pressed Duck 南安板鸭

Ingredients

The duck is the Dayu mottled duck (大余麻鸭), a local breed entered in China's national catalogue of livestock and poultry genetic resources. One maker with decades of experience, quoted by China National Radio, uses only live ducks raised free-range for 60 days and weighing 2.1 to 2.2 kg, and rejects frozen birds and birds treated with preservatives.

How it is made

After slaughter and cleaning, the duck is rubbed again and again with coarse salt and cured for seven to ten days, turned in the curing vat two or three times. The salt crust is then removed and the bird hangs in a sunny, airy spot for seven days, kept away from rain, until it is dry and firm. The turn of autumn and winter is the peak season for making and drying the ducks in Dayu.

The finished duck is flat, with a rounded, peach-like outline, the ribs splayed in the shape of the character ba (八) and the tail fat full but not showing. The Dayu county government lists traditional shapes such as the 'lion's mouth' and 'double hooks', and a white rim of fat about a finger wide.

Flavour and texture

The skin is thin and milky white, the lean meat soy-brown and tender, and the bones are brittle enough to chew. The county government describes the salt level as moderate, the lean meat as sweet and aromatic, and the fat as not greasy.

How it is eaten

The dried duck is steamed in a wok until cooked when it is wanted. A local resident quoted by China National Radio says plain steaming shows its flavour best; it is also stir-fried or stewed. It is served at banquets and given as a gift, and more than a century ago it was already being exported to Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau.