Created by Chengdu famous chef Huang Jinglin, Zhangcha Duck is a famous dish in Chengdu and a representative of the smoke flavor type in Sichuan cuisine.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Jinglin was on an errand for Cixi in the imperial dining room of the Qing Palace, and one day, he changed the material of smoked duck to camphor leaves and tea leaves, and as a result, the smoked duck skin was crispy and tender, the color was rosy, the taste was extremely delicious, and it had a special aroma of camphor tea, which was deeply appreciated by Cixi and was named a famous dish of the court.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Huang Jinglin came to Chongqing to hold an aunt feast, and the camphor tea duck he created was one of the famous dishes of the aunt feast. After Huang Jinglin's death in 1942, the camphor tea duck he created was carried forward by the famous duck makers Liao Rongqing, Lu Shaoqing, Li Guirong, etc. in Chengdu in Chengdu's "Rat Hole Zhang Duck" and became a famous dish around the world.
Zhang Duck of Rat's Cave is a long-established brand in Chengdu, founded in 1928 by Zhang Guoliang and his father. As the name suggests, duck dishes are the main attraction. In Chengdu, the elderly people have a deep memory of this store and have many memories of it as a child. When it comes to the camphor tea duck, roast goose, roast duck, smoked duck, etc. of the zhang duck in the rat cave, Chengdu is almost unknown to everyone.
Many foreign guests praised the camphor tea duck after eating it, and some ordered the dish again and again, and they thought that the Sichuan camphor tea duck was better than the Beijing roast duck.
Since then, the reputation of camphor tea duck has spread at home and abroad and become a famous dish of Sichuan cuisine banquet. Why is camphor tea duck so popular? This is mainly due to its unique cooking techniques.
Camphor tea duck is made of fat and tender duck marketed in autumn, which is pickled, smoked, steamed and fried, of which the process of smoking with camphor leaves and tea leaves is the most critical.
To cook the camphor tea duck, it is first marinated with peppercorns and fine salt, and then put the peppercorns, sawdust, tea leaves, cypress leaves, and camphor leaves into the smoker to light the smoke, cover it with bamboo smoke, put the duck in the cage, and smoke until the duck skin is yellow.
Then, mix the sake, mash, pepper and MSG into a sauce, spread evenly on the skin and belly of the duck, and place the duck in a large steamer basket for 2 hours.
Finally, fry the chilled duck in a frying pan until the duck skin is crispy, brush with sesame oil, cut the duck into small strips and plate, cover the neck with the skin facing up and pose it in the shape of a duck.
The camphor tea duck made in this way is bright red in color, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, with a strong aroma of camphor wood and tea, and the flavor is very unique.
Camphor tea duck is also very particular about eating. When served, it should generally be served with a sauce dish of onion sauce and eaten with lotus leaf cake. Lotus leaf cake is a small cake steamed from the noodles, the taste is soft, the taste is light, the color is white, and the camphor tea duck has a crisp taste, a strong taste, brownish red, and the lotus leaf cake forms a visual, tactile and taste contrast, plus the onion sauce dipped, it is even more fried.
In addition, camphor tea duck also pays attention to hot eating, fried and eaten, so that the taste of camphor tea is stronger.
According to the view of Chinese medicine, duck meat is slightly cold, has a heat-clearing effect, and is suitable for people with body heat and fire; people with low fever, weak constitution, loss of appetite, dry stool and edema have better food.
At the same time, duck meat has a high nutritional value, is a meat containing more B vitamins and vitamin E, its free amino acids are higher than other animal meat, and the fat content is moderate, about 7.5%, which is lower than pork. The fatty acids contained are mainly unsaturated fatty acids and low-carbon saturated fatty acids, and the digestion and absorption rate is relatively high. Therefore, duck meat is suitable for malnutrition, postpartum illness weakness, night sweats, sperm, women with less menstruation, dry throat and thirst; it is also suitable for cancer patients and patients after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as diabetes, cirrhosis ascites, tuberculosis, chronic nephritis edema patients.
For those who are cold and cold, those who do not think about eating, as well as stomach cold pain, diarrhea, low back pain and cold dysmenorrhea, obesity, arteriosclerosis, chronic enteritis should eat less; cold patients should not eat.