Kunming braised duck is a special food in Kunyang Town, Jinning County, Yunnan Province. It is famous for its "mellow, fat but not greasy". Jinning is located on the bank of Dianchi Lake, the pearl of Yunnan Plateau. It is the birthplace of Yunnan culture and the hometown of the great navigator Zheng He. As early as the Ming and Qing dynasties, Kunyang was an important town with land and water links, and the braised duck made from Dianchi duck was famous for a while. Local folks, guests on holidays, and foreign tourists all take braised duck as their first choice. The reason why the braised duck in Kunyang is delicious and good in quality is praised by the eaters. First, it is exquisite in material selection and fine in processing. The live ducks are all Dianchi ducks weighing more than 1.5 kg, which are strong, fat and tender, especially the drakes with bright green heads. After slaughter, it has to go through more than 1 processes, such as blanching, washing, slitting, bleaching, empty water, pickling and rubbing, hanging in the sun, pot marinating and so on. Kunyang braised duck is golden in color, crisp and delicious. As determined by relevant departments, it is rich in protein, fat, inorganic salts and vitamins A and B, and it is an excellent health food. Among them, the braised duck processed by Zhenhai restaurant is the best, which maintains and inherits the traditional characteristics of Kunyang braised duck and has good quality.
According to the local chronicles of Kunyang Town, Jinning County, it is said that in the late Ming Dynasty, Zheng He joined forces with Zhu Di, the founder of Ming Dynasty. Because of his bravery and meritorious deeds, he became a trusted eunuch of the prince of Yan, and one of them was ordered to go back to his hometown of Kunyang in Yongle to sweep the tomb of , and brought back the salted duck, a specialty of Nanjing. After being tasted by his hometown, he was very fond of it. He was ordered to take the salted duck with him. Since then, salted duck has taken root in Kunyang and become a well-known food. Kunyang people blended Yunnan Chinese herbal medicines and their own dietary customs ingredients into salted duck and evolved into today's braised duck.
After hundreds of years of inheritance and development, Kunyang braised duck has formed many genres and styles, especially since the reform and opening up. On the basis of inheriting the skills of ancestors, Kunyang braised duck producers have devoted themselves to research and continuous improvement, and constantly innovated from the aspects of production skills, ingredients and taste, and carefully marinated with century-old brine. The selection of materials is strict, the materials are exquisite, and the proportion is proper. The marinated duck is delicious in color, flavor and bone.
The development of braised duck in Kunyang has greatly promoted the development of local economy. Since the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, braised duck industry has opened up markets in Dianchi Lake area and southwest Yunnan, and established the status of a traditional time-honored brand. At present, there are nearly 1 shops in Kunyang, with thousands of employees, and the annual sales volume is hundreds of thousands, with a total output value of tens of millions of yuan. Kunyang braised duck has been well-known all over Yunnan, among which "Maolin braised duck shop" is the most famous. It has participated in exhibitions such as Kunming Agricultural Expo, Kunming Nianhe Street Exhibition and Jinqiao New Year's Goods on behalf of Jinning County many times.