Yongchun White Duck Soup

Yongchun White Duck Soup

　　Yongchun White Duck Soup

　　Yongchun’s white duck soup is also a local specialty dish. The white duck is tender, smooth, rich yet not greasy, with a richly flavored and nutritious broth that is famous far and wide. Specialty stores selling Shigu white duck soup can be found not only in Shigu and the county town, but also in Quanzhou and Xiamen. It has a history of over 200 years, originally made for household use or produced in small workshops. As people’s living standards have improved, white duck soup has entered the market as a commercial product and has gradually developed into scaled or chain-style operations. It leaves those who have tried it raving and those who’ve heard of it longing for a taste—its shops are always bustling with customers and highly favored.

　　White duck soup is much more nutritious than meat from livestock. This is because duck meat protein mainly consists of sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins, along with some stromal proteins, including water-soluble collagen that enhances flavor—especially when combined with more than 10 types of traditional Chinese herbs and an appropriate amount of salt, which effectively extracts nitrogenous extractives, resulting in an even richer-tasting broth. The fat content in the duck meat used in Shigu white duck soup is moderate, and it also contains relatively high levels of trace elements such as iron and copper.

　　According to the famous Ming Dynasty physician Li Shizhen’s *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “White duck meat is the best, ideal both as food and medicine, with benefits such as replenishing weakness, dispelling cold, and promoting urination.”

　　“Amidst a profusion of blooming flowers that never fade,” Yongchun offers a rich variety of local snacks. If you visit Yongchun, you’re sure to enjoy many distinctive treats. Friends, why not pay it a visit?