The "local dish" "Lotus Blood Duck" from Lianhua, a small county on the border of Jiangxi and Hunan, is being liked by more and more people, and restaurants and restaurants named after this dish have spread all over the world. There are shadows of "Lotus Blood Duck" everywhere in Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Haikou, Shanghai and Beijing. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 5,000 people working in the county operating more than 1,000 "Lotus Blood Duck" restaurants across the country, earning nearly 200 million yuan for Lotus every year.
In Lotus, "Lotus Blood Duck" is a favorite food of everyone and everyone likes it. This dish uses duck native to the county, plus local high-quality tea oil, rice wine, and red pepper. It is carefully cooked by local chefs and is delicious, tender, and delicious. Over time, the "Lotus Blood Duck" has become a food culture in the county. Regardless of towns or villages, people kill ducks and beat their teeth from time to time as a sacrifice. In all restaurants in urban and rural areas, the main dish must be "Lotus Blood Duck". This special dish is also the first choice for out-of-town guests when they come to Lotus, because "passing through Lotus without trying the duck would be ridiculous."
A beautiful legend was born with the birth of "Lotus Blood Duck". In 1276 AD, the Yuan army captured Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Wen Tianxiang gathered his troops and led King Qin. On this day, he came to Lotus and planned to drink chicken blood wine with the local rebels and make an alliance with their blood. There were no chickens at that time, and ducks were abundant in Lotus, so duck blood was used to make wine. When Liu Delin, the master chef of Huotou Army, was frying duck, he mistakenly thought that the unfinished duck blood wine was spicy sauce and poured it into the pot. Not long after, a spicy smell spread, and the vegetables were mushy and purple in color. The duck was served on the table. Wen Tianxiang tasted it and was full of praise and asked: "What kind of dish is this?" Liu Delin answered incorrectly: It is a local specialty called "Lotus Blood Duck". The dish got its name and was passed down from generation to generation. Later, it was included in the royal menu of the late Qing court.
Since entering the new century, a group of quick-thinking Lotus people are determined to "carry forward" the long-established "time-honored brand" and "drive" "Lotus Blood Duck" to all parts of the country. They did what they said and took advantage of the convenient transportation to transport Lotus duck, camellia oil and other local products to various places. Soon, the popularity of this dish grew day by day.
More than 10 "Lotus Blood Duck" restaurants have settled in Nanchang. Peng Songjun, the owner of the "Lotus Blood Duck" local restaurant on Minde Road, said: Last year, I opened two local restaurants from Lotus to Nanchang selling "Lotus Blood Duck" as the main dish. Unexpectedly, the business was surprisingly good. People who eat in the store come here because of the name of "Lotus Blood Duck", so the raw materials are sometimes in short supply. Next year, I plan to open a third store and gradually realize chain operation.
Li Qifeng, the owner of the "Shaoshan Blood Duck" restaurant in Guangzhou, told us over the phone: People who grew up in Lotus have a unique attachment to the "Lotus Blood Duck". There are many Lotus people in Guangzhou. Not only did they come to my place to eat "Lotus Blood Duck", but they also brought Taiwanese businessmen and foreign friends. During festivals such as New Year's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day, the business in the store can be described as "hot". Customers come one after another, and some even have to wait in line. Now, my store receives hundreds of customers every day, and the first dish ordered by each batch of customers is "Lotus Blood Duck".
Li Jianming, who was born in Qinting Town, Lianhua and now runs the "Ganxi Blood Duck" restaurant in Beijing, said: When I was in college, I always talked about the unique taste of "Lotus Blood Duck" to my classmates. The first thing I did when I got home was to ask my mother to make "Lotus Blood Duck" for me. I ran "Lotus Blood Duck" purely by accident. At that time, I was still working in a trading company in Guangzhou, and once I went to dinner with a Beijing customer. The guest asked me if I had any specialties from our hometown. He wanted to taste the local flavor, so I took him to Li Qifeng’s restaurant. As soon as the "Lotus Blood Duck" was served on the table, the guests were attracted by the strong aroma and couldn't wait to taste it. After the meal, he asked me if I could also eat "Lotus Blood Duck" in Beijing. After he reminded me, I suddenly had an idea: go to Beijing to open a "Lotus Blood Duck" restaurant. Today, I have hung the "Lotus Blood Duck" sign on the streets of Beijing. Soon, I will let the "Lotus Blood Duck" "swim" to Wangfujing.
What’s interesting is that the “Lotus Blood Duck” stores in various places have also become “stations” and “club halls” for Lotus people living abroad to express their homesickness and connect with each other.
In Guangzhou, during holidays, locals or workers from the Lotus family will gather together to eat blood duck to show their longing for their hometown. A Lotus fellow who has settled in Guangzhou said: After being away for many years, he always thinks of the customs and customs of his hometown and the happy time of enjoying the "Lotus Blood Duck" with his family. The Lotus people who work in Guangzhou usually don't work together, but they look forward to having "Lotus Blood Duck" with their relatives and friends at the hotel during the holidays. Li Qifeng said that every holiday, he would set aside several boxes to wait for Lotus people to come to gather.
"Lotus Blood Duck" spreads its fragrance to thousands of homes. For example, in Shenzhen, there are five "Lotus Blood Duck" restaurants, and in Haikou, there are seven or eight "Lotus Blood Duck" hotels. But there are also some constraints on how to form an industry through a unique dish.
Accelerate brand management. "Lotus Blood Duck" has a long history. Relevant departments should elevate its development to the level of inheriting intangible cultural heritage and make great efforts to apply for a protected "green trademark" for it; at the same time, guide business owners and Farmers establish brand awareness, develop markets with varieties, win markets with quality, and occupy markets with brands.
Be bigger, stronger and better. Lotus has good ecological resources. We can rely on the advantages of abundant mountains and water, combine the traditional planting and breeding of lotus and the development trend of "Lotus Blood Duck", and follow the ideas of unified planning and highlighting characteristics to create a large-scale operation and scientific production. "Lotus Blood Duck" raw material supply base.
Form a development association. "Lotus Blood Duck" is still in a state of self-operation. It is necessary to connect the "Lotus Blood Duck" business owners scattered across the country in the form of an association, and collect and organize catering information in various places. At the same time, we should actively organize business owners to exchange experience and train managers and cooking technicians by holding experience exchange meetings and technology improvement meetings. `
Many people know that many cuisines are famous far and wide, but it is rare for just one dish to be popular all over the world. We look forward to building "Lotus Blood Duck" into a big industry for Lotus people to start their own business, thereby driving a group of people to become rich.