Dian Xiao Er’s herbal roast duck
The history of duck roasting can be traced back to as early as the Yuan Dynasty when it was listed among the imperial dishes. Now, it’s the staple at every banquet and family dinner. Yes, the roasted duck is one of the greatest hits in every compilation of Chinese dishes. Here’s what makes Dian Xiao Er’s signature roasted duck stand out from the rest:
Providence and breed. They use only Cherry Valley breed of ducks for its tenderness and flavour. Any excess fats under the skin of the duck is trimmed off manually.
They offer three variations of herb-roasted duck —with angelica herbs, with Ten Wonder herbs, and with wild ginseng. The fowl is first stuffed with choice of herbs, then roasted in a special Germany-imported oven for one hour. The bird becomes perfumed with the scent of herbs and the skin turns a golden brown. The herbs are removed before the duck is chopped up and served with sauce.
The secret is in the sauce. To match the herbs that have been stuffed into the fowl, Dian Xiao Er offers three different types of sauces to drizzle over their herb-roasted duck.
Ducks that has been roasted with angelica root (dang gui), gets a sweet/ savoury angelica root sauce poured over it (small $15, medium $28.90, large $41.90, whole $49.60). Ducks roasted with wild ginseng gets an intense ginseng sauce (small $16, medium $30, large $43.90, whole $50.60).
One of the most common sauce for roast duck is the Ten Wonder herb sauce—you can get this nearly every other Chinese restaurant. At Dian Xiao Er, birds that have been roasted with Ten Wonder Herbs (includes condonopsis root, foxglove root, licorice root) are accompanied with the “Ten Wonder” herb sauce. There’s something slightly medicinal about the black sauce but it’s bittersweet flavour goes really well with the roasted duck. (small $15.50, medium $29.60, large $42.60, whole $49.90).
What the duck? It has traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) qualities too. Because of all the herbs that are used in the preparation of the duck. Angelica root nourishes the blood and treats those who are anaemic. Wild ginseng reduces heatiness and has a soothing effect on the lungs while the Ten Wonder herb mix has a calming effect.
