Chicken and duck blood soup

Chicken and duck blood soup (Chinese: 鸡鸭血汤; pinyin: jī yā xiě tāng) is a Shanghainese soup-based blood dish, using the blood of chicken and duck as a principal ingredient. Created by Xu Fuquan, a hawker from Shanghai, and described to be sour and spicy in taste, the dish is viewed as a healthy food with medicinal value in Shanghai.

History

Chicken and duck blood soup was invented by little-known Shanghainese hawker Xu Fuquan, who made the dish by mixing hot chicken and duck blood with the head and feet of a chicken, before boiling it in an iron pot, which he dubbed a "metal cow".^[1] In 1973, during his visit to Shanghai, then-King of Cambodia Norodom Sihanouk tried chicken and duck blood soup and reportedly enjoyed the dish a lot, having consumed countless bowls of it.^[2]

Preparation and description

The soup is made by boiling the blood of chicken and duck, alongside a handful of chicken organs and other body parts.^[3] Chicken and duck blood soup is described as having a sour-spicy taste.^[4] The dish is viewed as a healthy food with medicinal value in Shanghai.^[5]

Cultural impact

Chicken and duck blood soup is so famous in Shanghai that one source goes on to label it as a cultural icon of the city.^[6] It is sold mostly at Shanghai's City God Temple.^[7] Kellie Schmitt of CNN describes the dish as one of "Shanghai's weirdest foods", although adding that it "tastes better than it looks".^[5]

See also

• Czernina
• Duck blood and vermicelli soup
• Shanghai cuisine
• List of Chinese soups
• List of duck dishes
• List of soups

References

1. 上海老味道 (in Chinese). 上海文化出版社 [Shanghai Cultural Publications]. 2007. pp. 215–. ISBN 978-7-80740-086-8.
2. "他来上海最爱鸡鸭血汤" (in Chinese). Why.com.cn. October 16, 2012. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
3. 中国烹饪百科全书 (in Chinese). 中国大百科全书出版社 [Encyclopedia of China Press]. 1995. ISBN 9787500051251.
4. 云南省志 (in Chinese). Vol. 68. 云南人民出版社 [Yunnan People Publications]. 1989. pp. 178–.
5. Schmitt, Kellie (December 26, 2011). "Shanghai's weirdest foods". CNN. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
6. Huang, Meifen (2007). 校园大长今: 文艺与饮食结合, 笔墨和油烟共舞, 新加坡学子的生活小品 (in Chinese). 玲子传媒 [Lingzi Media]. pp. 46–. ISBN 9789814200776.
7. Ma, Xuexin (1992). 上海文化源流辞典 (in Chinese). 上海社会科学院出版社 [Shanghai Institute of Societal Studies Press]. pp. 410–. ISBN 978-7-80515-238-7.