Why is there a custom of eating duck meat on the Dragon Boat Festival?

The Duanwu Festival (the 5th day of the 5th lunar month) is one of the traditional holidays in Vietnam, which is highly regarded by the people. Some other countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea also celebrate this holiday.

Why is there a custom of eating duck meat on the Duanwu Festival?

On the occasion of the Duanwu Festival, Vietnamese people often prepare offerings to their ancestors and gods, praying for a bountiful harvest, freedom from pests and diseases, and good health for the people, free from disease.

In particular, the Doan Ngo Tet tray of Vietnamese people in all 3 regions has traditional dishes to "kill insects". Depending on each region, the day of killing insects will be worshiped in different ways. Each dish and offering on the Doan Ngo Tet tray has its own meaning for each region, but all show respect and turn to ancestors.

Traditionally, the offerings on the Duanwu Festival include fruits, sticky rice wine, gio cakes (ash cakes, ash cakes)... In particular, in the Central region, people also celebrate the Duanwu Festival with fatty, soft and sweet duck. It can be said that this is an indispensable part of the Duanwu Festival offerings here.

Why is there a custom of eating duck on the Duanwu Festival when this food is usually avoided at the beginning of the month? The 5th day of the 5th lunar month is usually the season when duck meat is at its fattest and most delicious, both firm and tender. In terms of weather, this is the time when the sun is extremely hot, and the yang energy in the sky and earth is at its peak, according to the ancient Eastern saying.

Meanwhile, according to oriental medicine, duck meat is cool and sweet, helping to increase energy and nourish the body for people who work hard and are mentally exhausted. In particular, duck meat is also considered an effective remedy to treat heat, high fever leading to convulsions (called sai kinh in oriental medicine) as well as helping to detoxify, reduce swelling and lower fever. Duck meat is also believed to have the effect of "nourishing the middle and benefiting the qi", helping people with weakness to restore their vitality.

With these characteristics, duck meat is a suitable dish to eat on hot days, which is part of the reason why there is a custom of eating duck meat on the Duanwu Festival.

Duck meat is usually boiled and served with ginger fish sauce, or used in porridge dishes. Other popular recipes include stewed duck (with lotus, apples, cloves and star anise).

Thus, eating duck meat on the Duanwu Festival is not only a traditional custom but also a smart, reasonable choice that brings health benefits based on the balance of cold - heat, yin - yang in cuisine.

How to boil delicious duck for the Dragon Boat Festival

Choose mature ducks with full breasts, thick neck and belly skin, and fully feathered. Avoid choosing ducks that are too fat or too young, because ducks that are too fat will be boring, and young ducks will have mushy meat.

After butchering the duck, wash it with white wine to remove the odor, then rinse it with water, making sure to cut off all the tails to remove the odor. For the legs, peel off the yellow skin on the outside and cut off the nails. In addition, peel off the duck tongue, the skin around the mouth and nose; remove the duck lungs to avoid the situation where the boiled meat is still red as if it is not cooked.

To boil duck, you need to prepare the following ingredients and spices: 1 ginger root, 2 shallots, 1 lemongrass stalk, salt, white wine.

Steps to boil duck: Put water in the pot, add lemongrass, ginger, grilled onions, bring to a boil, then put the duck in to boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to simmer. The time to boil the duck is about 20 minutes, increasing or decreasing depending on the weight and age of the duck.