When it come to savory snacks, braised duck necks would be my first and only choice. So what is braised duck necks? After clean the duck necks, you put them into a pot and cook with soy sauce and water. Boil it up and then put all spices in: ice sugar cubes, ginger, green onion, cinnamon, turmeric and lots of chili peppers. Keep boiling the sauce for three hours, and soak overnight. This way the duck necks can absorb all the spiciness and the sweetness of the sauce, and these necks would change into a dark red, purple color which looks very tasty. Generally the braised duck necks are spicy, but you can also find just sweet soy sauce flavor in the market as well. This recipe is not only for duck necks, it also come with duck clavicle, duck intestine, duck’s paw and duck liver. I know duck clavicle may sounds crazy to some people, but trust me, this is something one must try! Two of the most popular brand we have in China selling braised duck necks are Zhou Hei Ya and Jue Wei. I always buy Jue Wei’s braised duck necks in T3 international airport in Beijing right after I jump out of the plane. I miss it so much and I just couldn’t wait! A great way to enjoy these little snacks is to have them with beer. Now, before we enjoy the delicious duck necks I must introduce different brands of Chinese beers first. Each brand comes out from a certain province. Take the Shandong province as an example, it has the best and also the most famous beer in China: Qingdao beer, or Tsingtao beer, which is from the city named Qingdao.Qingdao beer was established in 1903 and you can see it has more than a hundred years’ history. The beer used German manufacture production process and technology, and is made from the water of Mountain Lao. This mountain is basically made of stone, which makes the water go through the mountain contains abundance amount of mineral substance that make the beer taste unique and great. Almost every Sunday night, when I finish all works from school and my mom and dad finally have time to get rest, we would sit together in the sofa and enjoy duck necks and beer. Usually these are good company with the sports channel as you may have the same experience before in any sports bar. Me and my family gather around talking about the sports showing on TV and enjoy the duck neck and beer as snacks. We usually eat a lot so we are not hungry anymore and mom don’t have to cook dinner for us. My mom always says Sunday is her favorite day because that’s her relax day. As one of my top favorite savory snacks in the list, braised duck necks not only just taste good, but also it represent my happiest family time and it makes me nostalgic every time I think of it now.
