A classic Nanjing (Jinling) dish whose elegant name conceals what it actually is: duck pancreas, the thin pale gland that lies along the duck's intestine. The cleaned glands are blanched, de-membraned, and quick stir-fried over high heat in duck fat with velveted chicken breast. Because each duck yields only one tiny pancreas, a single plate takes the glands of dozens of ducks, which is the source of its reputation. It is counted among the Four Famous Dishes of Jingsu (Nanjing) cuisine.
The dish was created in the 1920s at Ma Xiangxing, a long-established Muslim (halal) restaurant in Nanjing. By tradition a chef, short one course during a banquet, noticed the tender pink duck pancreases soaking in water and stir-fried them with chicken breast in duck fat; asked the dish's name, he gave it the refined title "beauty's liver," dressing up an offal trim as something delicate. It became the most celebrated of Ma Xiangxing's signature dishes and is ranked first among the Four Famous Dishes of Jingsu cuisine, the others being squirrel fish, egg shaomai, and phoenix-tail shrimp.
The pieces are pale pink turning ivory, no bigger than a fingernail, and read on the tongue as crisp-tender — a clean snap that gives way at once, not chewy, not soft. They carry a faint duck note and the round savor of duck fat, set off by the milky slip of the chicken. Done right the pancreas stays springy and just-set; overcooked it turns rubbery and bitter, and any membrane or gall left on it ruins the plate with a sharp off-taste.
Everything turns on cleaning and heat. The pancreas is briefly scalded then chilled in cold water so the thin outer membrane and the stringy connective tissue (the "smelly sinew") can be peeled away cleanly — this is what removes the bitterness and lets the gland stay pale. The chicken breast is first set white in barely warm duck fat (velveting) so it stays tender, then both are coated in egg white, salt and bean starch, which forms a thin protective film that holds moisture and keeps the surface smooth. The final cooking is a fast stir-fry over a roaring fire in hot rendered duck fat: a few seconds of high heat just sets the proteins to springy-crisp before they can toughen or weep. Duck fat is used throughout because its flavor matches the gland and its high smoke point suits the violent heat.
Variations
The core pairing is duck pancreas with velveted chicken breast in duck fat; common additions are slivered winter bamboo shoots or water bamboo and a little fresh mushroom for crunch and color, with Shaoxing wine, scallion and ginger to season. Because duck pancreas is hard to gather in quantity, home and restaurant versions sometimes stretch or substitute it, and the dish is also listed under plainer descriptive names such as "stir-fried duck pancreas with chicken breast." It remains a specialty most associated with Ma Xiangxing and Nanjing's Jinling cuisine.
On the Palate
Where Nanjing Beauty's Liver sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 3
How it's made
7 steps · 50 min
- 110 min
Trim and rinse the duck pancreases; briefly scald them in boiling water, then plunge into cold water and soak until firm.
- 215 min
Peel off the thin outer membrane and pull away all the stringy connective tissue, then cut the pancreas into fine slivers.
Watch outPeel off the membrane and pull away every stringy sinew — this cleaning is what removes the bitterness and keeps the gland pale; leave it and it stays bitter.
- 38 min
Slice the chicken breast thin and coat the pancreas and chicken together with egg white, salt and bean starch.
- 44 min
Render some lard or duck fat; over low-to-medium heat, slip the chicken slivers in barely warm duck fat just until they turn white, then lift out.
Watch outVelvet the chicken in barely warm duck fat just until it turns white, then lift it out — go past white and the lean meat tightens and dries.
- 51 min
Heat fresh rendered duck fat until hot (about 60% hot); add ginger and scallion, then the pancreas and any bamboo shoot or mushroom.
- 61 min
Return the chicken, splash in Shaoxing wine, season with salt, and stir-fry fast over high heat for only a few seconds until just set.
Watch outSplash in the wine and stir-fry hard for only a few seconds until just set — this is a roaring-fire, in-and-out dish; a moment too long and it goes rubbery.
- 71 min
Toss everything together until evenly coated and glossy, then plate at once while springy-crisp.
