During travels, I like to walk and explore the little nooks in the city's old quarters on foot. The old city cores are usually not very big and are eminently walkable. (I am one of those who consider 5km walking "very near" 😄 Don't be like Tony 🤭 )
In Xiamen, when you walk the city, you will invariably smell the alluring sweet savoury spiced aroma of ginger with caramelised soy sauce and sugar.
I like the smell.
There are many ginger duck shops in Xiamen.
Ginger duck is made by stewing the whole bird in a claypot or casserole with caramelised ginger slices, sorghum wine, black vinegar, dark and light soy sauce, black sesame oil, and malt / white sugar.
The bird is stewed in this watery concoction till the flavours are infused deep in the duck's fibres and the liquid reduced to a thick sauce or nearly dry.
We tried quarter ducks from various different shops during our Xiamen tour.
The ducks were served in small claypots sizzling and steamy with ginger, soy sauce and sugar aromas.
The ducks don't look pretty when chopped up and presented in a twisted heap blanketed with charred caramelised ginger.
But, the duck meat were all tender, juicy and well infused with savoury sweet flavours with mild ginger heat.
We liked the ducks and also enjoyed eating the crisp ginger slices like spicy chips.
When you are in Xiamen, there is no escape from the smell of ginger duck. Why not eat it, right? You might like it too, especially if you are a duck lover.
Written by Tony Boey on 6 Nov 2024
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