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{{#seo:
|title=Crispy Fragrant Duck / Xiang Su Ya (香酥鸭) - Chinese Food Wiki
|keywords=Crispy Fragrant Duck,香酥鸭,香酥鴨,Xiang Su Ya,crispy aromatic duck,Sichuan duck
|description=Crispy Fragrant Duck (香酥鸭, xiang su ya) is a Chinese duck dish marinated with spices, steamed until tender and then deep-fried for crisp skin.
}}

{{Infobox chinese food
| alternate_name = Xiang Su Ya; Xiangsu Ya; Crispy Aromatic Duck; Fragrant Crispy Duck; 香酥鸭; 香酥鴨
| pinyin = Xiāng sū yā
| type = Whole duck seasoned, steamed until tender, then deep-fried
| course = Banquet or family main
| country = China
| region = Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hunan, Beijing and other regional kitchens; Guizhou heritage styles; British-Chinese "crispy aromatic duck" as a diaspora relative
| other = Steam-then-fry duck — not roasted Peking Duck, not smoked Tea-Smoked Duck
}}

'''Crispy Fragrant Duck''' (Simplified Chinese: 香酥鸭; Traditional Chinese: 香酥鴨; Pinyin: ''Xiāng sū yā''; also '''xiang su ya''') is a Chinese duck dish whose defining technique is '''steam, then fry''': a whole duck is rubbed with salt, Sichuan pepper, five-spice and rice wine, steamed until the meat is almost falling from the bone, drained and dried, and finally deep-fried until the skin turns golden and shatteringly crisp. The name stresses the two qualities cooks aim for—''xiang'' (fragrant) and ''su'' (crisp-tender). Chinese reference works list versions in Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hunan and Beijing cooking, and a Guizhou family style is recognized as provincial intangible heritage. A frequently retold anecdote says the duck was served to Charlie Chaplin during the 1954 Geneva Conference; treat it as a popular story rather than documented culinary history. It is '''not''' [[Peking Duck]] (roasted, carved and wrapped), '''not''' [[Tea-Smoked Duck]] (smoked over tea and camphor), and '''not''' [[Cantonese Roast Duck]].<ref name="bk">[https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%A6%99%E9%85%A5%E9%B8%AD/1273749 Baidu Baike: 香酥鸭]</ref><ref name="bk2">[https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%85%A5%E7%82%B8%E9%B8%AD%E5%AD%90/6285690 Baidu Baike: 酥炸鸭子]</ref>

== Characteristics ==

Deep golden to reddish-brown skin that crackles; soft, shreddable flesh; aroma of peppercorn and warm spice; eaten with scallion, sweet bean sauce or pepper-salt, sometimes tucked into small buns or pancakes.

== Ingredients (overview) ==

Whole duck; salt, Sichuan pepper, five-spice or star anise and cassia, ginger, scallion, rice wine; frying oil; pepper-salt, sweet bean sauce and scallion for the table. Overview only—no recipe steps.

== History and culture ==

Regarded as a Sichuan banquet classic in Chinese cookery writing, with parallel steam-and-fry ducks in Jiangsu, Shandong and Hunan kitchens; some sources connect the related 酥炸鸭子 (crisp-fried duck) with Weishan in Shandong. Local heritage listings in Guizhou and Nanchong (Sichuan) recognize particular family techniques. The British takeaway dish '''crispy aromatic duck''', shredded at the table and eaten with pancakes and hoisin, grew out of the same steam-and-fry idea in diaspora restaurants but is best treated as a separate diaspora adaptation.<ref name="bk" />

== Serving and variations ==

Chopped and reassembled on a platter, or pulled apart at the table; with steamed buns, pancakes, scallion and sauce. See [[Peking Duck]], [[Tea-Smoked Duck]], [[Beer Duck]] and [[Nanjing Salted Duck]].

== See also ==

* [[Peking Duck]]
* [[Tea-Smoked Duck]]
* [[Cantonese Roast Duck]]
* [[Beer Duck]]
* [[Nanjing Salted Duck]]
* [[List of dishes (A-Z)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Crispy Fragrant Duck - Revision history

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