Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup
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Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup
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Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup (Simplified Chinese: 鸭血粉丝汤; Traditional Chinese: 鴨血粉絲湯; Pinyin: Yā xuè fěn sī tāng; also 老鸭粉丝汤) is one of the signature snacks of Nanjing in Jiangsu. A clear, savory broth simmered from duck frames holds soft cubes of set duck blood, slices of duck liver, gizzard and intestine, small fried tofu puffs (豆腐果) and slippery sweet-potato glass noodles, finished with coriander and scallion; diners add chili oil or vinegar to taste. Snack streets around Nanjing's Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao) helped make the bowl a city symbol, and shops often sell it beside soup dumplings and spring rolls. A story about a poor man who accidentally dropped vermicelli into a bowl of duck blood is a folk legend. The soup is not Mao Xue Wang, the fiery Chongqing blood-and-offal stew.[1][2]
Characteristics
Light, clean duck-broth flavor; silky, tofu-like blood cubes; chewy offal; springy translucent noodles; bright herbs and optional chili oil.
Ingredients (overview)
Duck blood (set), duck liver, gizzard and intestine; fried tofu puffs; sweet-potato vermicelli; duck broth; dried shrimp in some shops; coriander, scallion, chili oil. Overview only—no recipe.
History and culture
Reflects Nanjing's long duck-eating culture that also produced Nanjing Salted Duck; the soup became a mass-market snack in the late 20th century, and Nanjing-branded chains spread it across China. English menus say "duck blood vermicelli soup" or "Nanjing duck blood soup."[1]
Serving and variations
Single bowl as breakfast, lunch or snack, often with soup dumplings or pan-fried buns. See Nanjing Salted Duck, Xiaolongbao, Shengjianbao and Mao Xue Wang.