A hot duck is a good way to cool down
Duck barbecue [JoongAng Ilbo]
During the sultry, debilitating days of summer, some traditionalists recommend duck as an invigorating food. Yang is an ardent advocate of duck meat, even though it has twice as much fat as chicken. However, duck fat is unsaturated, which increases its benefits.
“Chinese people enjoy a lot of greasy foods, but they do not have much arterial disease,” Yang said. “This is because of their love for duck meat, which Oriental medicine says helps to drain poison from the body. It is the must-eat food for city people who live in the midst of pollutants.”
Traditional Korean medical texts support Yang. They say duck meat rebuilds energy, cools down internal organs and helps digestion.
Ducks are often boiled in a broth or steamed with medical herbs. These cooking methods are said to maximize the healing properties of duck meat.
The following is a list of Yang’s favorite duck restaurants:
Gnaan Duck: Raw duck flesh is served in bite-sized slices. Guests cook the slices on a charcoal grill. The ducks are raised on a remote farm under the direct management of the restaurant. Grilled on charcoal, the meat is chewy. There are side dishes of pickled onion and chives. At the end of the meal a soup of duck broth and medicinal herbs is served. The sweet potatoes cooked amid the charcoal make a good dessert item. A whole duck is 25,000 won ($28). Ganaan is located in Pung-dong, Ilsan, near Madu Station, line No.3. For more information, call (031) 907-5291.
Oriwa Chamge: This restaurant specializes in duck meat roasted in mud. The meat is daubed with a mud paste and then tucked into an oven at 400 degrees celsius for three hours. The cooked meat has a very crisp surface while the inside is tender. The duck, stuffed with grain, beans, nuts, ginseng and herbs is very nutritious. Guests can choose either naengmyeon or plain noodles as a main dish. There are 10 kinds of side dishes, including fresh vegetable salad. Since the serving is large, one duck is enough for three adults. The price is 55,000 won for one duck.
Oriwa Chamge is located at Sadang Station Junction, near Sadang Station, line No.4, exit 12. For more information, call (02) 597-0767.
Sintoori: Guests here can enjoy a four-course duck feast. For the first, a traditional Korean kettle appears which guests use as a grill to cook the duck. The next is a duck barbeque which offers tender meat with a nice smoky aroma. Duck jumulreok, or braised duck meat, seasoned with gochujang, has a sweet and spicy taste. Sambaektang completes the meal. This soup has duck bones boiled with herbs. For dessert there is cold naengmyeon and red bean sherbet. The price is 55,000 won for four people.
Sintoori is located at Chunui Junction, Bucheon, Gyeonggi, near Bucheon Station, line No. 1. For more information, call (032) 675-8600
Aema: This restaurant serves smoked duck. A dipping sauce made with wasabi offsets the duck’s greasy taste as do vegetables seasoned with gochujang. The most popular side dish is deulkkae sujebi, a soup made with green perilla seeds. The price of one duck is 35,000 won and deulkkae sujebi is 5,000 won.
Aema is located at the entrance to Eungogae, Namhansanseong Fortress, Gyeonggi, near Namhansanseong Station, line No. 8. For more information, call (031) 769-1572.
Geuneuljip: This restaurant features barbequed duck. The duck meat, which has been smoked over an oak fire, is grilled at the table by diners. Seasoned chives with green perilla seeds are put on the grill alongside the duck meat to reduce the duck’s oily taste. The price of the lunch set is 15,000 won.
Geuneuljip is located at the entrance to Lakeside golf course in Gwangju, Gyeonggi. For more information, call (031) 334-1313.
Hobakgol Origui: This restaurant features smoked duck inside sweet pumpkin. The restaurant roasts the ducks for seven hours in a traditional kiln. Cooks hollow out sweet pumpkins and stuff them with the duck meat. The pumpkins are then packed in mud and roasted for another hour or two. The price of a duck is 45,000 won.
Hobakgol Origui is located at Gangsang-myeon, Yangpyeong, across from the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation. For more information, call (031) 774-9986.
By Yoo Ji-sang JoongAng Ilbo [estyle@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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