P
Chinese · Nanjing
Nanjing Salted Duck (南京盐水鸭 Nanjing Yan Shui Ya) — Cold-Method Cure
Nanjing yan shui ya (南京盐水鸭, Nanjing salted duck) is one of the most distinctive cold preparations of Jiangsu province — a whole duck cured in a brine of salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and aromatics, then poached in a seasoned stock and served cold, sliced. It is a dish of unusual textural complexity — the duck has a specific quality described as 'fat but not greasy, fresh and fragrant' — the result of a careful combination of dry-curing, brining, and gentle poaching. The best version uses ducks specifically raised along the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, but the technique can be applied to any good-quality duck.
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I
The Market List
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For the dry cure
1
whole duck
approximately 2 kg, trimmed of excess fat
Your own market
60 g
fine salt
Your own market
1 tsp
Sichuan peppercorns
toasted and ground
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
¼ tsp
five spice powder
small amount
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the poaching broth
2 litres
water
Your own market
30 g
salt
Your own market
3
spring onions
whole
Your own market
30 g
3
star anise
Your own market
1 tsp
Sichuan peppercorns
whole
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the dipping condiment
100 ml
reserved poaching broth
skimmed, sweet-sour
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
20 g
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II
The Method
1
Combine the salt, toasted ground Sichuan peppercorns, and five spice. Rub the mixture thoroughly over the entire duck — inside the cavity and across every exterior surface. Place the duck on a rack, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 12–24 hours. The cure is complete when the surface of the skin feels dry to the touch and the salt has visibly drawn moisture from the flesh.
2
Combine the water, salt, spring onions, ginger, star anise, and whole Sichuan peppercorns in a pot large enough to submerge the duck. Bring to a full boil over high heat. Lower the cured duck into the liquid. Return to a full boil — the broth will smell sharply aromatic at this point.
3
Immediately reduce the heat to the absolute minimum. The liquid must fall to approximately 75–80 °C and hold there for 30–40 minutes — it should barely tremble at the surface, with no rolling movement. This is where the dish lives or dies: a vigorous simmer will tighten the flesh and rupture the fat, destroying the quality of fat but not greasy, fresh and fragrant. The broth should at no point boil again. The duck is done when the thigh, pierced at its thickest point, yields clear juices.
4
Lift the duck from the broth. Tilt it to drain the cavity fully into the pot. Reserve the poaching broth. Allow the duck to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate — uncovered on a rack — until completely cold throughout. The skin, once cold, should be pale, smooth, and slightly taut to the fingertip.
5
When fully cold, chop the duck through the bone into serving pieces using a heavy cleaver. The cut surfaces should show flesh that is delicately and evenly seasoned with no grey or dry band at the centre. Arrange on a platter. Serve with a dipping condiment of reserved broth and finely sliced fresh ginger.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Duck raised along the Qinhuai River, Nanjing — the entry's named ideal — dry-cured for the full 24 hours with freshly toasted and ground Sichuan peppercorn.
02
Estate — A named free-range or heritage breed duck of approximately 2 kg, from a single farm source; Sichuan peppercorns sourced from a reputable importer with notable floral fragrance.
03
Market — A good-quality fresh duck (not frozen) from a butcher or farmers' market; standard commercial Sichuan peppercorns; dry cure held for 12–18 hours.
04
House — Any whole duck available; pre-ground five spice and Sichuan pepper; minimum cure time of 12 hours; technique otherwise followed precisely.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. After the dry cure, the duck's skin feels dry and slightly stiffened where the salt has drawn out surface moisture.
◇Sight. During poaching, the broth surface barely trembles — no bubbles breaking, no rolling movement — confirming the temperature holds at 75–80 °C.
◇Sight. Juices run clear when the thigh is pierced at its thickest point.
◇Touch. Once refrigerated, the skin is pale, smooth, and slightly taut — not tacky, not wet.
◇Sight. On the chopped cross-section, flesh is evenly seasoned with no grey or dry band, and the skin is an unbroken pale layer.
◇Where it lives or dies. The poaching temperature must never exceed a bare tremble — a rolling boil at any point tightens the flesh and breaks the fat, and the defining quality of the dish, 'fat but not greasy, fresh and fragrant', cannot be recovered.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Baijiu
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