Xialun Wentan Duck Soup Introduction
Wang Wendtang, born in 1952, started his business in aquaculture, but due to the low-lying terrain in Xialun, frequent flooding occurred, especially during Typhoon Wayne in 1986, which almost destroyed his fish ponds. As a result, he abandoned fish farming and, the following year (1987), set up a stand at the intersection of Taiwan Highway 17 and Minsheng Road to sell meat rice dumplings and duck meat noodles. At that time, the Xialun market was located along Taiwan Highway 17. Later, when the highway was widened, the market moved to Minsheng Road, and Wang Wendtang relocated his stall to the current site, adding rice noodles and pig's blood soup to his offerings. The aquaculture operators in the Xialun area mainly raise milkfish, clams, and shrimp. When it's time to harvest these, work begins at midnight, and pond owners come around 3 or 4 AM to buy snacks for the workers. Initially, they used to buy rice dumplings, but since they are harder to digest, they switched to serving duck meat noodles, and Wang Wendtang gradually shifted his focus from dumplings to noodles. The preparation of Wendtang's duck meat soup involves quickly frying onions, adding sliced duck meat until cooked, and mixing in seasonings, black vinegar, and garlic crisp. In a pot of boiling water, shredded bamboo shoots, garlic crisp, and bonito powder are added, followed by seasonings and cornstarch to thicken. When customers place their orders, the fragrant duck meat slices are added to the soup pot for heating before being served in a bowl. The duck meat is...
