八珍鸭汤

八珍鸭汤 ( literary means ‘soup of 8-invaluable-herbs with duck’ ) is a very special herbal soup for the Sarawakian Foochows.

八珍汤 is devoured by both boys and girls, young and old, back in my hometown Sarawak, especially of the Foochow descendants.  Yet, over this side of South China Sea, only the females consume it for its supposedly ‘yin’ nutritive value.

So, it was a shock when our friends in Peninsular learned that we boys, too, consume 八珍汤.

It was a day before Dasiong’s birthday, and we decided to cook for him 八珍鸭汤 with 面线 ( pronounced meesua in Foochow, Sarawakian Foochow’s version of vermicelli ). It’s a package of 八珍 simmered with whole duck (cut into pieces, of course), served only with meesua. …. a nostalgic concoction for the wanderers from the faraway land.