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Eight-treasure duck has the auspicious meaning of "bringing in wealth and treasure" for Jiaxing residents. [Photo/jiaxing.gov.cn]

Eight-treasure duck is an indispensable dish in Jiaxing during holidays and especially for wedding feasts, as it has the auspicious meaning of "bringing in wealth and treasure".

With large amounts of rivers and ponds, Jiaxing is a good place to raise sheldrakes, which are the ideal ingredient for eight-treasure duck.

Jiaxing locals usually use the cooking method of braising to make the dish, while residents of Xincheng ancient town in Jiaxing's Xiuzhou district prefer stewing. Typically, 18-month free-range sheldrakes are the top choice for this dish.

Main ingredient: 1,500 grams of 18-month free-range sheldrake.

Ingredients: 200g of glutinous rice, 70g of lean pork, 50g of duck's gizzard, 30g of fatty pork, 50g of tender bamboo shoots, 25g of water-swollen shii-take, 50g of ham, 75g of Chinese chestnut meat, 50g of dried bamboo shoots, 50g of cooking wine, 20g of salt, 7 gof aginomoto, 2,500g of meat soup, 10 flowering cabbages.

Preparation: Put the ingredients, 15g of cooking wine, 5g of salt, and 2g of aginomoto to the washed and drained glutinous rice after it is soaked for one hour. Put this mixture in the sheldrake's stomach, which is then sealed with bamboo sticks.

Put the sheldrake and the meat soup in an earthen pot and let it boil on high heat. Stew for 2 hours.

Features: Refreshing and delicious taste with a mellow aftertaste.