Shahu Salted Duck Eggs

Shahu Salted Duck Eggs

　　The unique characteristics of Shahu salted duck eggs. As Shahu is located in a marshland area with crisscrossing ditches, lush water plants, and an abundance of shrimp and snails. The water network of Shahu also grows a rare and peculiar grass — the wheat-yellow horn grass. This grass has thick stalks, broad leaves, and produces dense, sweet seeds. The mature wheat-yellow horn seeds serve as the best feed for ducks, and when ducks eat them, their egg yolks contain an extra drop of red cinnabar-like oil. Hence, they are also known by the laudatory name “Shahu Salted Duck Eggs — A Pearl in Every Yolk.” Ducks raised in such a natural environment are truly blessed. The large, delicious, and often double-yolked Shahu salted duck eggs, renowned both at home and abroad, are produced here.

　　 The veteran revolutionary, writer, and calligrapher Li Erzhong once recounted in his article “A Few Incidents About Chairman Mao” an anecdote about Chairman Mao inspecting Hubei and tasting Shahu salted duck eggs. Here is an excerpt: “In the winter of 1954, he (referring to Chairman Mao) arrived and wanted to hear our reports... We wanted to make up for previous inadequate hospitality and served him a big table of food. He spoke sternly: ‘You think the more the better, but it’s actually wasteful. A mountain need not be high to be famous if there’s a deity on it; water need not be deep to be spiritual if there’s a dragon in it; eating need not be abundant to be satisfying if it suits the taste...’ He didn’t care for delicacies from mountains and seas, but he loved eating Shahu salted duck eggs.”

　　 What exactly makes Shahu salted duck eggs different from ordinary ones? It turns out that Shahu is located in a marshland area with crisscrossing ditches, lush water plants, and an abundance of shrimp and snails. The water network of Shahu also grows a rare and peculiar grass — the wheat-yellow horn grass. This grass has thick stalks, broad leaves, and produces dense, sweet seeds. The mature wheat-yellow horn seeds serve as the best feed for ducks, and when ducks eat them, their egg yolks contain an extra drop of cinnabar-like oil. Hence, they are also known by the laudatory name “Shahu Salted Duck Eggs — A Pearl in Every Yolk.” Ducks raised in such a natural environment are truly blessed. The large, delicious, and often double-yolked Shahu salted duck eggs, renowned both at home and abroad, are produced here.

　　 The phrase “a pearl in every yolk” did not come from the folk, but from the imperial court.

　　 In the late Qing Dynasty, a man named Li Fuzao from Shahu became a Hanlin academician. Because he was waiting for an official appointment, he stayed at the Hanlin Academy. At that time, the Eight-Nation Alliance had invaded Beijing, and Empress Dowager Cixi fled westward with her attendants. Passing by the Hanlin Academy and seeing light coming from the windows, she found it curious and ordered her attendants to bring out Li Fuzao, who was “trapped in the capital”: “Everyone else is fleeing, yet you remain here...?” Upon seeing the grandeur, Li Fuzao immediately realized it was the long-desired presence of the Empress Dowager herself. He kowtowed at once: “How dare this humble servant, Li Fuzao, leave the capital before Your Majesty!” Thus, he was taken by Cixi along with the ministers and servants who were “escorting the Emperor” and fled to Xijing. After returning to Beijing following peace negotiations, the Empress Dowager promoted the loyal Li Fuzao, and he thus began his rise. To please his master, Li Fuzao brought a basket of Shahu salted duck eggs from his hometown and presented them to the royal presence. When Cixi tasted the eggs, she used her ivory chopsticks to lift the red yolk, dipped it in water, and saw the oil shimmer beautifully. Then she tasted the red yolk — fragrant, rich, and unforgettable. Cixi repeatedly praised: “Good eggs ! Good eggs !” Truly ‘a pearl in every yolk’!” And so the name “Shahu Salted Duck Eggs — A Pearl in Every Yolk” was born and spread overseas.