LOCAL FOOD GUIDE

Duck Tongues 鸭舌

Yashe

Duck Tongues is featured among the local specialties of Zhejiang.

AI illustration: A plate of cooked thin curled organ-meat strips with sliced peppers and scallions.
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）AI-generated visual reference; not a restaurant photograph. AI 示意图，仅供参考，非实拍。

Duck Tongues (鸭舌) are a Wenzhou (温州) cold dish appearing on everyday tables and at Lunar New Year meals. A local news report visits Lianlian Cooked Food Shop (莲莲熟食店) in Washi Lane (瓦市巷), where Zheng Lianlian (郑莲莲) demonstrates her preparation.

A shop’s sequence

Fresh tongues are washed, marinated in a sauce containing soy sauce and sugar, and dried outdoors. They then undergo several hours of heated steaming before being stir-fried and braised in seasoned liquid. The reporter describes a pronounced soy-sauce aroma and a lingering flavour.

An auspicious name

Folklorist Jin Wenping (金文平) explains that Wenzhou speakers call the dish ya zhuan (鸭赚), associating its sound with making a profit. Its redder colour after curing, drying and braising is also linked with festive prosperity. The shopkeeper recalls customers giving duck tongues to friends and business associates.

China Revealed · Editorially updated 2026-09-30

Sources & reading

Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-30. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.