What it is
Duck thick soup (鴨肉羹, also written 鴨肉焿) is thin slices of boneless duck in a thickened broth with shredded bamboo shoots and garlic. Geng (羹) covers Taiwan's family of starch-thickened soups. Southern bowls tend to be mellow and slightly sweet, while in northern Taiwan many diners expect a shacha (沙茶) flavour, from a savoury paste of dried seafood and spices.
Where it came from
The dish is most closely tied to Xingang (新港), a temple town in Chiayi County whose old trades, such as incense making and malt candy, grew up around pilgrims visiting Fengtian Temple (奉天宮). Xingang is famous for duck thick soup, and a stall in front of the temple has sold it for more than 50 years. One of the town's best-known shops is now run by the second and third generations, with a sister and brother taking turns at the wok a week at a time, so the taste shifts slightly with the cook. The recipe has also travelled: the owner of Yeh San in Tainan ran a duck soup business in Chiayi before opening in Tainan in 2021.
How it is made
In the stir-fried style (生炒), raw duck goes into a hot wok with garlic and bamboo shoots, and some cooks add spring onion, chilli and onion, so the meat picks up wok aroma (鑊氣). Broth is then added and the soup thickened. In Xingang the stock is duck bones simmered for about three hours. Other shops braise and debone the duck first and slice it into the soup.
How to eat it
Order it as a light meal on its own, with soft rice noodles (米粉) in the bowl, or beside a small bowl of duck rice (鴨肉飯). Many shops set out vinegar and chilli powder for a dash of each. Some also sell handmade duck blood cake (鴨米血) as a side.
Around Taiwan
- Tainan
- Yeh San Stir-Fried Duck Thick Soup (葉桑生炒鴨肉羹) brought a Chiayi recipe to the East District in 2021 and holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Each order is fried in a small pot with garlic and sweet bamboo shoots.
- North
- In Xindian, New Taipei, Bei Ya Duck Thick Soup has served only duck thick soup and duck rice for over 20 years. It braises and debones local mule duck and keeps its onion and bamboo shoot broth mild and slightly sweet.
- South
- Xingang in Chiayi County is the town most associated with the dish. Cooks there fry native duck over high heat with garlic and onion, and the broth leans sweet rather than savoury.
