Tuku Duck Vermicelli 土库鸭肉面线

Tuku Duck Vermicelli (土库鸭肉面线) is a bowl of red vermicelli and duck in a clear broth scented with Chinese angelica (当归), sold in Tuku Township (土库镇), Yunlin County (云林县), under the name angelica duck vermicelli (当归鸭肉面线). The Taiwan Tourism Administration lists a long-established shop on Zhongzheng Road (中正路) that has served it for about sixty years.

How it is made

SETN, reporting in 2019 on a Tuku shop that had sold the dish for about sixty years, describes a broth of more than ten Chinese medicinal herbs with a faint smell of alcohol, and duck advertised as bought fresh that day. The Taiwan Tourism Administration stresses that this is not the dark kind of angelica herbal soup: the broth stays clear and golden. The noodles are Yunlin handmade red vermicelli, which SETN says are made by hand in Xiluo Qikan (西螺七崁). Shredded ginger is added for seasoning.

Flavour and texture

The vermicelli stays firm in the soup instead of turning mushy, and soaks up the duck fat and the scent of angelica. The duck is cut thick, which locks in its juices, with a good balance of skin and fat.

How it is eaten

The usual side order is a plate of plainly blanched offal (下水), which is crunchy. The Taiwan Tourism Administration presents the bowl as a warming tonic for summer, eaten to clear heat and damp, and SETN reported that the shop it visited fills up even in hot weather.