In the cold weather, picking up a piece of fatty duck meat and as soon as putting it in mouth, the thin, crispy skin on the outside immediately melted, and see that heaven and earth seemed to blend inside each fiber of the meat, seemingly still retaining its softness and sweet like boiled meat.
It would be a mistake if any tourist had the opportunity to visit Lang Son without enjoying the famous delicious roasted duck specialty. For many generations now, every time we go up and down the Tan Thanh and Huu Nghi border gates... it is hard for drivers to forget the busy streets and crowds of people standing around the duck shops. The fragrant scent, melting in the wind, is enough to hold every traveler's footsteps.
Over a steaming cup of jasmine tea, Mr. Ly Viet Hung, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lang Son province, recounted famous roasted duck brands in the border region, from Hung Hung, Huong Nga to Hong Xiem, Thu Hang. Then, there was a moment of silence as if waiting for the scent of tea to penetrate every cell. The Department Director mentioned "Nguyen Sinh". This is the newest name on the list that has just been recognized by the People's Committee of Lang Son province as meeting 4-star OCOP standards.
Nguyen Sinh roasted duck is special, perhaps right from the name. Nguyen is the name of the current shop owner - Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Nguyen and Sinh is the name of the mother - Mrs. Truong Thi Sinh. The reason for combining two generations' names is that the recipe for making the famous Lang dish was only passed down to a single daughter. When the son steps out to do his business, a new brand will be born, which means the old brand and the mother will step back.
Until now, Nguyen Sinh roast duck has existed and developed into its fourth generation. The person who originated the family roast duck profession more than 100 years ago was Mr. Ho Tang Xi, followed by his daughter, Mrs. Sang. After that, Mrs. Sang passed the profession on to her daughter, Mrs. Sinh. At this time, the Sinh Sang roasted duck brand was officially born. That is also the origin of branding by combining the names of two generations to affirm the position and influence of the person taking on the role and transmitting the profession.
"When I was a child, I remember my grandmother reminding her grandchildren about the name Sinh Sang. She said, naming it like that to remember its roots," Mrs. Nguyen said. So after Sinh Sang, the hundred-year-old roasted duck brand has Nguyen Sinh and will undoubtedly continue to be kept for many more years because Mrs. Nguyen has a daughter who is now grown up.
Nguyen Sinh roasted duck is rich in the identity of the Northeast mountains and forests. The unique and sophisticated features of choosing spices to marinate ingredients and prepare dipping sauces have made a dish more attractive and special. According to Ms. Nguyen, for the roasted duck to be delicious, the ingredients must first be rich in flavors from Lang Son, such as cinnamon, star anise, macadamia nuts... Choosing duck ingredients is also an important requirement for creating a delicious, characteristic taste of Nguyen Sinh roasted duck that cannot be found elsewhere.
Lang Son province has many duck breeds with delicious meat quality, such as That Khe gourd duck and blue-necked duck... The selection, therefore, also becomes more accessible, mainly in the selection stage of choosing how many kilograms of duck to choose from, female or male duck, old or young, skinny or fat, to give more meat and suit consumer tastes.
Choose good ingredients, but do not underestimate the preliminary processing. Anyone who has ever processed ducks understands how important plucking and cleaning is. If you pluck the feathers for a long time, the duck meat will be soaked in water for a long time, which can cause the meat to have a fishy, bland taste. Therefore, it requires the worker's hands to be quick and skillful. In addition, Nguyen Sinh roasted duck has a unique feature: when the duck has been washed, the processor will use a tube made of papaya leaf stalks washed with wine to inflate the outer skin, making the skin crispier when roasted.
Next is the seasoning. Mrs. Nguyen said that with four existing facilities in Lang Son province, Nguyen Sinh consumes about 200 products daily. Accompanying it are more than ten types of spices displayed on the table during preparation. Among them, fruits and leaves of Mac Mat are indispensable. Mac Mat leaves must be young leaves plucked from the most fragrant trees because not all trees have fragrant leaves, but there are even leaves with a bitter taste. All the spices, including onions, dried garlic, macadamia nuts, soy protein, sesame, oyster sauce, and soy sauce... are ground, cooked into a sauce, then stuffed with leaves and that sauce into the duck's belly and sewn. The duck is then in the oven to dry for about an hour. This step helps the meat inside absorb the spices evenly. The drier the duck, the more shiny and eye-catching the skin will be when cooked.
Finally, there's the dipping sauce. Having passed down her family's recipe and consulted the sticky rice seasoning methods of many other roasted duck processing establishments on the market, Mrs. Nguyen considers the dipping sauce the core element, creating the uniqueness of the product. It is an elaborate selection of many spices, such as onions, garlic, soy sauce, macadamia nuts, honey..., and how to combine and process the herbs to create a thick, greasy sauce. It has a salty, sweet, spicy taste, imbued with the identity of the mountains and forests.
Nguyen Sinh roasted duck is best eaten when it is still hot. Dipping a piece of hot duck meat with the secret dipping sauce, diners will immediately feel the sweetness and firmness of fresh duck meat, the crispy roasted duck skin mixed with the characteristic aroma of Mac Mat leaves, and many other types of duck meat. All create an extremely attractive flavor. Eating it over and over will never get boring.
There are countless roast duck brands in Lang Son. Each place is a separate secret. At any event, big or small, roasted duck is always a priority dish for Lang Son people to celebrate and entertain guests. Especially on the occasion of the Vu Lan Festival, which signals filial piety, and the Full Moon of the July month, roasted duck is an indispensable dish on the dinner tray of local people.
Mr. Hoang Van Pao, Chairman of the Cultural Heritage Association of Lang Son province, said that roasted duck is a dish passed down for hundreds of years in the area. This is one of the dishes that shows the cultural interference between Vietnam and China, with an elaborate cooking process. During the feudal period, Lang Son roasted duck had a very characteristic fragrant, delicious, fatty, and greasy taste, so it was often used to present to the king.
Depending on the recipe, the duck can be roasted in a pot, a rotisserie, on charcoal, or in a pan filled with oil according to each person's technique. But either way, it will bring delicious, distinctive ducks. When the skin shines bright brown and evenly everywhere, it's time for the duck to be cooked. For that reason, despite experiencing many ups and downs in history, Lang Son roasted duck still maintains its popularity because of its unique flavor that not every region has.
In recent years, building, creating and promoting the roast duck brand has received special attention from all levels and sectors in Lang Son province. Typically, the culture, sports and tourism industry has carried out many meaningful activities, such as: organizing a roast duck contest, putting roasted duck dishes on display at booths when participating in tourism promotion events at home and abroad, printing leaflets and folders, Create video clips and propaganda news articles about roast duck on mass media.
The profession of producing and processing roast duck in the province is increasingly developing. Currently, the whole province has hundreds of establishments producing, processing, and trading roast duck. Among them, Trang Dinh district and Lang Son City are the two areas with the highest concentration of roast duck businesses, with many famous addresses such as Nguyen Sinh roast duck, Hong Xiem roast duck, Hai Xom roasted duck Phở; Gift duck, Thu Hang roast duck, Long Anh, Hang Ha...
Although there are many secrets, the main attraction of Lang Son roasted duck lies in the marinating stage. To make Lang Son standard roasted duck requires the performer to be very persistent and meticulous in each step, especially the timing of roasting the duck because this is the decisive step to the quality of the finished product, color, and taste.
The way Lang Son people enjoy roasted duck differs entirely from other places. Lang people never use soy sauce or different pre-mixed dipping sauces but elaborately prepare their sauce. This is the condensed water taken from the duck's belly after roasting, along with the addition of spices. Duck meat is chopped into bite-sized pieces or can be torn by hand, depending on the diner's request, and can be eaten with wild leaves and pickles. To create a beautiful, dark yellow color, some establishments also spread honey-mixed water on the duck skin while roasting, creating a fragrant, sweet, and soft taste, helping the duck meat have a more attractive color when cooked.
Walking around the city, each facility brings a different experience to tourists. Roast duck at Hai Xom restaurant is grilled over charcoal after being brushed with a layer of honey. After that, the processor continues to dip the duck into the fat pan, stir it over and over, then let it cool so the duck meat becomes firm and absorbs the color of honey. The final product, in addition to enjoying it immediately, can be served with pho. A plump bowl of pho, with rich and sweet broth from the bones and delicious pieces of roasted duck, becomes a unique feature when arriving in Lang Son.
Another famous establishment is Hong Xiem roasted duck. This product was rated OCOP 4 stars by Lang Son province in 2020, with a history of nearly 80 years. Currently, the facility uses vacuum machines to package products for customers to take away. At the same time, from the beginning of 2020, the facility completed trademark registration documents, codes, barcodes, and traceability stamps for products, creating reputation and trust with customers.
More popular and closer to the masses is Mac Mat roasted duck. This facility is located near the famous Dong Kinh Market, so it is very convenient for tourists to buy Lang Son specialties as gifts after entering the market. Originally from Trang Dinh district, Nong Van Huy, currently residing in Nam Dong ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi, said that every time he returns to Lang, he always stops by to buy the roasted duck dish with honey that has been with him all his childhood time.
Lang Son is a land where ethnic minorities make up the majority, so cultural customs, especially cuisine, have unique features, according to Mr. Hoang Van Pao. Usually, there is mainly boiled chicken on the offering tray in many places, but no duck is used because ducks are believed to bring bad luck. However, in this remote region, boiled duck or roast duck is often used by ethnic people to worship the New Year, Thanh Minh Festival, or important occasions such as weddings, housewarmings, etc... Especially on the full moon day of the seventh lunar month, most families use duck on the feast to worship ancestors. This is the unique concept and custom of the people: "Eat chicken in January, eat duck in July," also known as "pay tai" to go home to celebrate Tet.
With a cool and pleasant climate, the unique culinary dishes in Lang Son almost all have the same greasy flavor. In addition to roasted duck, the border region also has roast duck, with the main ingredient being marinated pork belly and then roasting until golden brown with a mixture of spices such as onion, garlic, ginger, basil, sugar, pepper, oyster sauce, and five flavors, white wine, mac mol leaves, mushrooms, sweet potatoes... After roasting for about 15 minutes, the meat is steamed until cooked.
Like roasted suckling pig, it is prepared by stuffing young leaves into the pig's belly then roasting it on a hot charcoal stove. To brown the meat, the processor will continuously spread a mixture of oil and wild honey mixed with vinegar onto the pig's body. It can be used when the meat is tough and fragrant with the scent of mac honey leaves, and the skin is golden and crispy.
Delicious and attractive, but these dishes used to have a relatively short shelf life, usually only one or two days. Without a modern preservation or processing plan, it is difficult for a person in the Central region to enjoy a piece of hot roasted duck, preserving the flavor of the mountains and forests.
Faced with that reality, Mr. Vu Giang Cuong, owner of Nguyen Sinh roast duck facility, and her husband, Nguyen Thi Kim Nguyen actively researched and joined the Lang Son Startup Investment Club to consult new ideas to help make products suitable for consumers across the country.
Thanks to the help of the Department of Science and Technology of Lang Son province, Nguyen Sinh roasted duck facility has access to advanced processing and preservation processes, helping to preserve the flavor of the famous duck dish for about 15 days. Combined with clean, odorless, dust-free, non-toxic gas technology, ensuring food hygiene and safety, ensuring environmental hygiene, the typical delicious taste, and the most quintessential things are still preserved. Up to now, consumers across the country, even in the Mekong Delta or Central Highlands provinces, can sit at home, sip a glass of wine, and enjoy a piece of fatty duck meat like sitting in the mountains and forests of the Northeast.
Not satisfied with what has been done, Mrs. Be Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Lang Son province, said that the Provincial People's Committee had directed the Department to advise and develop a plan to establish the collective brand for roasted duck from Lang Son. At the same time, build link chains to develop the scale and output of the famous delicious That Khe duck breed in the area. This is one of the measures focused on by border localities to promote and improve the quality and competitiveness of products in the market.
Ms. Hien hopes that when the collective trademark Lang Son Roast Duck is exclusively protected, new opportunities will open up, helping the province's roast duck products improve their positioning ability and not be confused with other products. In addition, products will constantly be improved in quality, design, and packaging, ensuring hygiene and food safety, to export to neighboring markets.
Hopefully, with positive directions and the efforts of all levels, branches, and people of Lang Son province, the famous Lang Son roasted duck with Mac Mat leaves brand will become increasingly well-known, making this specialty more popular and a defining feature of the Fatherland.
