Ginger Duck Soup (薑母鴨 (Jiāng mǔ yā))
Overview
Ginger duck soup, jiang mu ya, is a rich Taiwanese duck soup cooked as a winter tonic. Thick slices of old ginger are fried slowly in black sesame oil until they curl and turn golden, then pieces of duck on the bone, traditionally a male red-faced Muscovy duck, are added and seared. The pot is filled with Taiwanese rice wine and water and a bundle of Chinese herbs, such as angelica root, chuanxiong, goji berries and jujubes, and it simmers for more than an hour until the duck is tender and the broth turns dark and fragrant. In restaurants it is served in a clay pot as a hot pot, with cabbage, tofu skin and mushrooms added at the table.
History
The name confuses many people: in Taiwanese Hokkien, jiang mu means old ginger, not mother duck. The dish is linked to the salted duck of Quanzhou and Xiamen in Fujian, but the Taiwanese version with sesame oil, rice wine and herbs took shape in the 1980s and later spread back to Xiamen. It is one of the most popular winter foods of Taiwan, and it is also served in the month of rest after childbirth.
Main ingredients
Duck, old ginger, black sesame oil, rice wine, angelica root, goji berries. The soup is built on dark sesame oil and rice wine broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Rice soups · More soups from Taiwan
Recipe
Method
- 1
Fry the ginger slowly in the sesame oil until golden and curled.
- 2
Add the duck pieces and sear them until the skin is browned.
- 3
Pour in the rice wine and water, add the herbs and bring to the boil.
- 4
Simmer for 1 to 1½ hours until the duck is tender.
- 5
Serve in a clay pot over a burner, adding vegetables and tofu skin as you eat.
- ✓
Serve. About 2 h from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
