A western Hunan dish of duck stir-fried and braised with sliced, pan-fried cakes of glutinous rice set in duck blood — crisp-edged, chewy, savoury and hot.
A specialty of western Hunan, most famous in the old town of Fenghuang and tied to the Tujia and Miao peoples of the region. By legend it dates to a Ming-dynasty sailor from Hongjiang who carried blood-rice cakes to sea and cooked them with duck; this remains folklore. The Hongjiang craft is a Huaihua municipal intangible cultural heritage, and the dish is reserved for festivals and honoured guests.
The blood-rice cakes come crisp-edged from the frying, then dense and chewy inside once they have drunk the braising liquid — bouncy with real bite, yet tender and never sticky to the teeth. The duck is rich, fragrant and frankly spicy, fresh-tasting under the chili, and the whole dish leaves a long savoury finish.
The cake sets through heat-denaturation of the blood proteins, which aggregate into a gel much as tofu coagulates; a little salt is stirred in first as a mild anticoagulant so the blood does not clot before it coats the rice, and the long steaming drives off water for a firmer, chewier set with the glutinous rice bound inside. Frying the slices is essential — it crusts them so they hold their shape through the later stir-fry instead of crumbling, and gives the crisp-outside, soft-inside contrast. The duck is stir-fried hard first to drive off moisture before the braise.
Variations
The Fenghuang version is the tourist-famous one, with the duck braised low in beer for as long as two hours; the Hongjiang heritage version leans on a local sweet bean sauce as its defining seasoning. The braising liquid may be beer, rice wine or plain water, and the cake is also called duck-blood cake. Young or water duck is usual; the chili level is freely adjusted.
On the Palate
Where Blood-Cake Duck sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 40 min
- 1150 min
Stir fresh duck blood and a little salt into pre-soaked glutinous rice until every grain is coated, then steam on high about two hours until firm; cool fully and slice.
Watch outStir a little salt into the blood first so it coats the rice before clotting, then steam until firmly set — a loose cake crumbles in the later stir-fry.
- 25 min
Pan-fry the blood-cake slices in oil until lightly crusted on both sides; remove and set aside.
Watch outPan-fry the slices until lightly crusted on both sides — that skin is what holds their shape through the braise instead of falling apart.
- 33 min
Blanch the chopped duck briefly with a splash of rice wine, then drain.
- 44 min
In fresh oil, fry the garlic, ginger, star anise, cassia, Sichuan pepper and dried chili until fragrant.
- 55 min
Add the duck and stir-fry hard over high heat to drive off the moisture.
Watch outStir-fry the duck hard until the moisture is driven off and it starts to sizzle in its own fat — that's the base flavor before the braise.
- 62 min
Stir in the broad-bean paste, then the soy and sugar; pour in enough beer to almost cover.
- 740 min
Cover and braise on low until the duck is tender and the sauce has reduced.
- 85 min
Return the fried blood-cakes to simmer briefly so they soak up the broth, add fresh chili, and finish.
