Co Lung Duck - a delicious dish in Pu Luong

Thanh Hoa Coming to Hieu village, Pu Luong tourist area, visitors will enjoy Co Lung duck, a duck breed raised in streams, low in fat, firm and lean meat.

Co Lung Duck is a famous local dish of the Thai people in Hieu village, Ba Thuoc district. This duck breed has been inherited for a long time in Hieu village, then developed and bred in Co Lung commune. It has short legs, a round body with brown and black feathers, a short, large neck, and a white ring around the neck.

The Co Lung Duck often lives in small groups around villages, in Pu Luong nature reserve, between ravines and natural streams such as Nam Ba, Pu Luong, and Pha Le.

Co Lung duck breed in Pu Luong. Photo: Adam Huong

The ducks' main food is chopped wild banana tree trunks, corn kernels and rice from the rice fields. The air here is cool, the streams are clear, and there are small aquatic creatures such as fish, shrimp, and prawns, which are also another form of food for the ducks. This also creates a difference in the taste of Co Lung duck compared to ducks in other localities.

According to Mr. Lo Van Huyen, Head of Hieu village, the village is developing tourism, tourists know more about the dish so the price of duck is increasing. "The ducks are sold out as soon as they are raised. During the peak tourist season, there is a shortage of ducks to supply restaurants," he said.

Currently, nearly 50% of households in the village raise fish on small, individual farms, mainly in natural streams. In addition, there are 25 households in the commune raising fish on farms, using water wheels to bring stream water to ponds.

According to Mr. Huyen, a flock of ducks raised for about 3.5-4 months is ready to eat, priced from 100,000 to 150,000 VND for one kilogram of live duck. Grilled, boiled and roasted ducks cost about 200,000 to 350,000 VND for a 1.2-2 kg duck.

Roasted duck. Photo: Lo Thi Oanh

Ms. Lo Thi Oanh, owner of a roast duck shop in Pu Luong, said that the duck meat here is firm, sweet, thick, low in fat, and has no foul smell. Tourists can also order some to take home and cook themselves. Resorts and homestays have outdoor grills for tourists to grill according to their preferences.

In addition, boiled and roasted duck dishes are also loved by tourists because the meat is soft, sweet and easy to prepare. When preparing, the duck is blanched in boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius for about 5-7 minutes to clean all the feathers and organs. There are 10 different types of spices such as fish sauce, ginger, lemongrass, black pepper and indispensable mac khen, wild doi seeds, and mac mat leaves.

After being cleaned, the duck is stuffed with honey leaves and spices, then sewn tightly to roast or the belly can be cut open and spread horizontally so that when roasted, the duck will cook quickly and evenly. The spices are marinated for 60 minutes. The duck can be roasted on a charcoal stove or a baking oven depending on taste. The duck is roasted for about 45-50 minutes, 50-70 cm away from the charcoal stove. After 10 minutes of roasting, the meat will be firm, dripping golden fat onto the stove, fragrant.

The griller must turn the meat constantly so that it is cooked evenly and use skewers to prick the thighs or wings so that the inside is cooked. The duck is cooked until the skin turns a dark brown color, almost like honey, then cut into bite-sized pieces and arranged on a plate or bamboo tray. The duck meat is tender enough, sweet, the skin is crispy, and exudes the aroma of mac mat and mac khen leaves.

Visitors can brush honey on the dish while grilling to enhance the flavor. The duck is rolled with lemon basil, basil, perilla, and some herbs such as cat's whiskers, coriander, cucumber and dipped in a mixture of duck liver, salt and crushed mac khen seeds. Locals often use cham cheo with a little fried garlic instead of soy sauce like some other places. In addition, visitors can also enjoy boiled duck with salt, chili and lemon.

Ms. Linh Anh (26 years old, Hanoi ) said that she had enjoyed duck in many places, but the duck in Co Lung had thick meat, was soft and delicious, not tough, fishy or had a foul smell like some places she had eaten. The preparation was simple, but the dish was "fragrant, rich" and "you will remember it forever after eating it once."

Many restaurants have put Co Lung duck on their menu as a specialty of Ba Thuoc.

Thuy Linh

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