Salted Duck

Salted duck is a whole duck dry-salted, brine-cured, air-dried and gently poached, then served cold — pale and glossy, tender and lightly savoury, a constant on Nanjing tables.

Nanjing has eaten duck for over a thousand years, and salted duck was widespread by the late Qing. Ducks made in the eighth lunar month, when osmanthus blooms, were said to carry its scent, giving the dish its other name, 'osmanthus duck'.

It is usually chopped and served cold as a starter or accompaniment, equally at home at banquets and family meals.

Made by the old rhyme 'rub with hot salt, re-cure in clear brine, dry it through, poach it full', the duck is rich without being greasy and lingers sweet — a taste-emblem of the city.