Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup (Yāxuè fěnsī tāng)

Overview

Duck blood and vermicelli soup is a famous street snack from Nanjing in eastern China. A clear, savoury broth is made from duck bones and seasoned with salt, white pepper and a little ginger. Each bowl is filled with soft, translucent sweet potato vermicelli, cubes of set duck blood, slices of duck liver, gizzard and intestine, and small fried tofu puffs that soak up the broth. It is finished with chopped coriander, a drop of chilli oil and a splash of vinegar. The soup is light but rich in flavour, with many different textures in one bowl.

History

Nanjing has a long tradition of duck dishes, including its famous salted duck, and the city makes use of every part of the bird. This soup grew from that tradition and was being sold by street vendors in the early 20th century. Today it is one of the best-known snacks of Nanjing and is sold in small shops near the Confucius Temple and across Jiangsu.

Main ingredients

Duck blood tofu, duck liver and gizzards, sweet potato vermicelli, fried tofu puffs, duck broth, coriander. The soup is built on duck bone broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.

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Recipe

4Serves

1h 20m20 prep · 60 cook

~320kcal / serving

MediumDifficulty

Method

1. 1
   1 h

   Simmer the duck carcass with the ginger in 2 l water for 1 hour, then strain and season.

2. 2

   Cut the duck blood into cubes and poach it gently in the broth.

3. 3

   Blanch the vermicelli and put it in bowls with the blood, liver, gizzards and tofu puffs.

4. 4

   Pour over the hot broth and finish with coriander, chilli oil and vinegar.

5. ✓

   Serve. About 1h 20m from start to bowl.

Sources

• Duck blood and vermicelli soup (Wikipedia)

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.