Smoked Duck Rice 鸭香饭

How it is made

The duck is not simply roasted. It is steamed first, then braised in a pot of Chinese herbs until the meat takes the seasoning, and finally smoked over white sugar, which caramelises the skin to a glossy amber.

At the shop the birds hang whole. You choose the cut you want, it is weighed and priced, then sliced and plated; the rice underneath is dressed with a generous ladle of fried-shallot minced-pork sauce. A single shop can go through over a hundred ducks a day.

Flavour & texture

Smoked duck prepared this way is soft, savoury and lightly salty, and it does not need a dipping sauce. Texture varies sharply by cut: the leg is the tenderest, the breast is leaner and firmer, the wing and tongue are for people who like to work at their food.

The rice is the other half of the dish. The pork sauce makes it rich and faintly sweet, so the duck's smoke cuts through it. Order a small bowl if you are pairing it with stir-fries, because the sauce is filling.

Local roots & traditions

The best-known duck-rice family in Hsinchu has three branches run by three daughters, all trading on the same name. The busiest sits by the City God Temple on Beimen Street and stays open until two in the morning, which makes it both a lunch and a late-night stop.

Hsinchu residents are unusually attached to duck. Alongside the rice there are duck noodles, stir-fried duck blood and stir-fried duck intestine, and a table will often order one rice and two stir-fries to share.

Ingredients & dietary needs

Duck, soy-based braising liquid, Chinese herbs, sugar for smoking, rice, and a minced-pork sauce with fried shallot. The stir-fried sides include duck blood and duck intestine, both of which are offal.

This is not vegetarian and not suitable for anyone avoiding pork or duck. There is no dairy and normally no alcohol, though braising liquids can include rice wine — ask if that matters to you.

How to order duck rice

Show 鴨香飯 or 鴨肉飯 and ask for 小碗 or 大碗. If you want meat on the side, point at the cut you want at the counter; it is weighed and priced separately from the rice.

Ask for 鴨腿 (leg) if you want the tenderest meat. The stir-fried dishes are made mildly spicy by default, so say 不要辣 if you want none, and ask for 炒鴨血 or 炒鴨腸 only if you eat offal.

How to eat it & plan a meal

Taste the duck plain before adding anything; the smoke and the herb braise are the point. Then mix the pork sauce through the rice so every spoonful carries some.

One bowl of rice plus one stir-fry is a meal for one person; for two, order two rice bowls, a stir-fried duck blood and a vegetable. If you want soup, the duck noodles come in a large bowl and are easily shared.

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