Qijia cured duck is an exclusive taste for people in Qijia Township of Yongxing County.

The production of Qijia cured duck follows the ancient craftsmanship passed down by the older generations. The first key step is to select ducks. The locals only choose native ducks, which grow in the mountains and forests, with dense meat and rich fat, making them excellent raw materials for making cured ducks.

After slaughtering ducks and removing their feathers, they need to be repeatedly rinsed with mountain spring water to carefully remove blood stains and impurities, leaving only the natural freshness and sweetness of the duck meat.

The duck body, which has been drained of excess water, should be evenly coated with carefully stir fried salt. The maker should gently rub the skin with his palm so that the salt particles can seap into the deep fibers. Then, it should be left to marinate for two or three days, allowing the flavor to slowly ferment over time.

Smoking is the core process of making Qijia cured duck. The richness of pine wood and the fragrance of tea seed shells are the golden companions for smoking cured ducks.

After more than ten days and nights of slow smoking, only when the duck's body becomes shiny and rosy, the meat is firm and elastic, can an authentic Qijia cured duck be considered done.

The finished Qijia cured duck has a bright red skin color that looks very tempting, with lean meat that is firm and not tough, and fat meat that is transparent and not greasy.

When cooking, there is no need for complicated procedures, but just stir fry briefly in a pot, and the rich aroma will instantly fill the room, making people salivate.

With the rise of short videos, villagers in Qijia Township have also picked up their phones and filmed short videos of ducks hanging on the stove and smoked with firewood, telling the ancient craftsmanship of making preserved ducks in simple words and sharing the stories in their hometown.

The golden and shiny cured duck has attracted a lot of attention from netizens and led to many purchases.

Wang Li, a villager from Jiangkou Village, Qijia Township, said,”Now we can show our customers the process of raising ducks and making Qijia preserved duck by shooting short videos, so that customers from all over the country can learn about our Qijia preserved duck and place orders. The sales volume and income have increased several times compared to before.”

Chinese source: voc.com.cn