Zhijiang Duck

No duck no Mid-fall festival

Since I left Zhijiang in 1978 to go to college, although I haven’t eaten all the famous Chinese and foreign dishes, I have tasted many famous and unknown dishes, and I have also eaten in many Western-style restaurants in the United States. But what I miss most in the past twenty years is the Zhijiang duck on August 15th in my hometown. Every August 15th, it is the traditional Midfall Festival in China, the squeaking sound of the duck being fried in every house comes to my mind countless times, the tangy duck fragrance, the soft duck meat, the green onions full of duck juice, and the toothless little brother. The naive attitude of chewing on a big duck leg...

In my hometown of Zhijiang, Hunan, where I spent my childhood and youth, besides eating mooncakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, we also eat duck. For the people of Zhijiang, the duck feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is second only to the reunion dinner on Chinese New Year. Family members living far away will rush back home to Zhijiang to eat the Zhijiang duck for Mid-Autumn Festival and reunite with their families. In Zhijiang, every household will prepare Zhijiang duck. If a family doesn't know how to make Zhijiang duck, they must be newcomers who just moved from elsewhere. But within two years, they will surely become skilled in making Zhijiang duck. For someone from Zhijiang not to eat Zhijiang duck on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month must be because they cannot return home. Even if they are away, the thing they most want to eat for Mid-Autumn Festival is Zhijiang duck. For the people of Zhijiang, whether or not they eat mooncakes on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month doesn't matter, but not eating duck would be a huge regret. Not eating duck means they haven't really celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival. Young men must bring a few ducks to their future mother-in-law's house before Mid-Autumn Festival, or else their engagement might be called off.

 

Duck Farming

"April 8, freeze the ducks." Every year after the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, in every street and alley of Zhijiang, duck vendors carry bamboo baskets about four feet in diameter that resemble steamer baskets, inside which are newly hatched fluffy ducklings covered with black gauze. Each basket can hold dozens of ducklings, with two baskets per load, and vendors can carry up to a hundred ducklings. You can hear the ducklings chirping from tens of meters away. Farmers buy hundreds or even thousands of ducklings. During the day, farmers wear bamboo hats and straw raincoats, tie a chicken feather duster to the front end of a two or three-meter-long bamboo pole, and drive the ducks to paddy fields, reservoirs, or small rivers to feed on insects, grass, and microorganisms. If any duckling falls behind or doesn't follow commands and runs around, the farmer will extend the bamboo pole and gently stroke the little one back with the feather duster. In the evening, farmers gather the ducklings on the grass and feed them grains or bran. They build a simple stove with stones and cook their meals. Then they set up tents and sleep by the duck enclosure. Some share a tent, while others sleep alone. They endure wind, rain, and sun exposure, living alongside the ducks day and night. With plenty of insects to eat in spring, along with sufficient grain and bran feed, the ducks grow rapidly each day. Their fluffy yellow feathers gradually fade, and curly feathers start to grow out. By the end of July, after harvesting early rice, farmers drive the semi-grown ducks into the fields to pick up scattered grains. This is when the ducks grow the fastest.

 

 

Ducks eat insects, and small fish in the rice field

 

Approaching Mid-Autumn Festival, the ducks weigh over a kilogram, the female ducks haven't started quacking yet, and the male ducks' wing feathers haven't fully grown. Farmers tie straw around the ducks' legs, put them in baskets, and transport them to towns or markets to sell to prospective buyers preparing for the festival. Almost every household buys ducks, with each buying at least one and most buying two or three.

 

Roasting Duck

To make Zhijiang duck, besides raising ducklings from that year, you also need Zhijiang-produced field sauce, freshly harvested ginger, and green onions. On the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month after breakfast, the housewives get busy. First, boil a large pot of water. Then take a bowl, put some cold water in it, add salt, and use it to kill the duck, collecting the blood in the bowl. Put the duck in a basin, scald it with boiling water to remove the feathers, and pluck the down when it cools slightly. Open the belly, remove the internal organs, and keep the duck liver. Use scissors to cut open the duck's gizzard, remove the dirty stuff inside, peel off the yellow membrane, sprinkle some salt, rub it, and rinse it with water. Cut the duck intestines into two-inch pieces. Cut off the duck's head and legs, and cut the rest into pieces. Slice the freshly harvested ginger, slice the chili peppers, wash two or three Jin (1.1 lbs.) of green onions, and tie them into knots. Pick a dozen or so fresh Sichuan peppercorn leaves and wash them. Zhijiang people like to use Sichuan peppercorn leaves for cooking. For example, when stewing dog meat, frying lamb, or cooking duck, they will use Sichuan peppercorn leaves. Although Sichuan peppercorns are an essential spice for many dishes, they are not sold in the market. Because many households have Sichuan peppercorn trees, if you need them, just ask the owner, and they will surely let you pick some. If the owner is not around, and some Sichuan peppercorn trees extend beyond the fence, feel free to pick some leaves; no one will object.

Set up the stove, heat the oil, add the field sauce when the oil is hot. Sauté the duck head and legs, add the sliced ginger and chili peppers, stir-fry briefly, add the duck pieces, and stir-fry over high heat. Add the coagulated duck blood to thicken the sauce. Add salt and soy sauce. After the duck is fragrant, add water and Sichuan peppercorn leaves, and simmer over low heat. If you have chestnuts, add one or two jin of peeled chestnuts, which would be even better. Simmer for several hours until the duck meat is tender. Ten minutes before removing from the heat, add the green onions. Once the green onions are cooked, the dish is ready. If you walk down the street in the afternoon on Mid-Autumn Festival, you'll catch a whiff of duck fragrance escaping from the cracks in every household's door. Some even set up small charcoal stoves at the door and cook duck openly on the street. It's hard not to drool. If you meet friends, you'll definitely be warmly invited to taste their duck. Children often can't wait and run to the neighbors who have already cooked duck to ask for a big duck leg to gnaw on.

 

 

Once the duck is stewed, it's served in a large bowl with the soup, placed on the table. Stir-fry one or two side dishes, open a bottle of white wine, and gather around the table with the family for this traditional annual duck feast. Some set up the table outside and enjoy the moon after eating the duck. The big duck leg is for the youngest children who couldn't wait any longer. Duck heads and bottoms used to be specifically given to the elderly as a sign of respect. It implies eating from head to tail. However, most people no longer adhere to this custom because there's not much meat on the duck head, and the elderly can't gnaw on it. But in some rural areas, this etiquette is still observed. Everyone's favorite is the thick gravy-soaked green onion knot, bursting with flavor in every bite. If chestnuts are added, they absorb the duck gravy and become tender and fragrant, very delicious. The tender and spicy stewed duck meat is delicious. Enjoying a few cups of good wine with family and chatting is true reunion, true Mid-Autumn Festival for the people of Zhijiang.

 

From Ancient Legend to Modern Legend

Why do the people of Zhijiang eat duck on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month? Since when did it start? No one can say for sure. But the old men with long beards will tell you an ancient legend they heard from their ancestors' ancestors. It is said that during the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the people were discontent with the rule of the Mongols and rose up in rebellion. The people of Zhijiang also prepared to rebel on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Some people put a small piece of paper in the mooncakes, on which was written: "Kill the Tartars on the fifteenth day of the eighth month." At that time, people referred to the Mongol soldiers as Tartars. Killing the Tartars meant killing the Mongol soldiers. People bought mooncakes, broke them open on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, saw the paper, and rebelled, killing the local Mongol soldiers and joining the anti-Yuan Dynasty forces. After the Yuan Dynasty fell, there were no more "Tartars" to kill. To commemorate "killing the Tartars on the fifteenth day of the eighth month," the people of Zhijiang have been "killing ducks on the fifteenth day of the eighth month" every year. Because "duck" sounds similar to "Tartar." The people of Zhijiang have passed down this tradition from generation to generation.

Zhijiang duck has been on the table of the people of Zhijiang for hundreds of years, but the outside world was long unaware of this highly distinctive local custom and delicious cuisine. Until about ten years ago, it is said that two young men and women from different villages in Zhijiang met while working outside and fell in love. They returned home together with great joy to tell their families the good news and get married. However, their hometown parents and relatives vehemently opposed their marriage. The reason was that they both had the surname Yang. In the countryside of Zhijiang, many people still believe that those with the same surname are relatives and cannot marry each other. But they were from different villages and had no blood relationship. The government also approved their marriage application. But their stubborn relatives refused to yield. So the young couple had no choice but to leave home. They drifted outside to work. Because working was unstable, they thought of opening a restaurant. Whether it was due to the difficulty of running a restaurant or out of habit, they made Zhijiang duck when Mid-Autumn Festival arrived. Their Zhijiang duck quickly gained fame in Changsha. Customers who came to taste it came in a continuous stream. Their business grew bigger and bigger. They eventually opened chain stores. This spring, when I visited a Hunanese friend in Boston, I even had packaged Zhijiang duck she brought from China. This indicates that their Zhijiang duck has entered large-scale production. Zhijiang duck, hidden for hundreds of years "in the depths of the boudoir," has finally stepped out of Zhijiang and is increasingly loved by more and more people.

 

True Zhijiang Duck is gone 

However, packaged Zhijiang duck is far from being true Zhijiang duck, neither in taste nor in significance. Although the people of Zhijiang love Zhijiang duck very much, they only eat Zhijiang duck on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. No restaurant sells Zhijiang duck. For the people of Zhijiang, only Zhijiang duck made with ducklings raised that year, local Ma Zi duck, young ginger, field sauce, and green onions harvested that year is true Zhijiang duck. Zhijiang duck is a special dish for Mid-Autumn Festival, just like turkey for Thanksgiving, and it is also a symbol of reunion. Zhijiang was originally the land of the Dong ethnic group, with Han, Miao, and other ethnic groups living there. But the various ethnic groups lived in harmony, intermarried, used Chinese characters, and spoke Chinese. Most of the descendants of the Dong ethnic group do not know that they are Dong ethnic people. All the people of Zhijiang, whether Han, Dong, or other ethnic groups, must eat Zhijiang duck on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Zhijiang duck, like a cultural melting pot, has blended the customs and cultures of various ethnic groups for hundreds of years. This makes the people of Zhijiang appear generous, tolerant, and peaceful. To ease my homesickness, I once bought frozen duck, old ginger, and sweet bean sauce and tried to make Zhijiang duck, but the taste was far from that of Zhijiang duck from my hometown. It lacked the atmosphere of duck fragrance filling the streets and alleys. Recently, when I called my former neighbor Tang Jie, she asked if I had gotten used to life in America. I said the hardest thing was not being able to eat Zhijiang duck. She said, "Come back, and I will definitely make lots of Zhijiang duck for you, guaranteed to satisfy you." Only in Zhijiang, during Mid-Autumn Festival, among relatives and friends, eating Zhijiang duck cooked by family members can truly dispel the endless homesickness in my heart.

 

Written on August 2004

 

Postscript

Xiping Jing, my classmate and roommate in Peking University. He became professor at Peking University. He still remembers that my hometown is Zhijiang. He told me in a phone call, a few years ago, two restaurants selling Zhijiang duck opened in front of Peking University. He thought if Zhijiang Duck is from Lewei's hometown? He went to eat it sometimes and felt it delicious. He said that Zhijiang duck is now sold in many Hunan restaurants in Beijing and has become a signature dish. But he didn’t know the story of Zhijiang Duck. I told him the story on phone, he found it very interesting. Thinking that more and more people like to eat Zhijiang duck, I have written this article. After eating Zhijiang duck and savoring the duck aroma in your mouth, it will be interesting to taste its culture and history.