I spent the first 18 years of my life in a beautiful city with a long history – Nanjing, China. I never left there until I graduated high school and came to the USA, and I gradually realize that Nanjing has its unique things — such as duck blood and vermicelli soup. I did not notice that those tastes, smells, and senses I grew up with became part of who I am, just as I did not see how much I love and miss Nanjing. I got the recipe for duck blood and vermicelli soup today, as it contains my complicated feelings about my hometown.
Nanjing is the city of ducks. People in Nanjing grow up eating duck, and they have a lot of ways of cooking it. Among all of them, duck blood and vermicelli soup is my favorite. A good bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup contains several key elements: a well-cooked soup base, fresh vermicelli, and a lot of duck organs with gravy. 
However, there are nearly no duck blood and vermicelli soup restaurants in the US. I couldn’t find similar tastes everywhere, not even in the biggest Chinatowns. Till today, the duck blood and vermicelli soup with the most original taste we found is packed duck blood and vermicelli soup made by “huiwei.” Thanks to “huiwei,” I can share my hometown taste with my hometown friends and also new friends from other cities. Every time we sit at the table and start a duck blood and vermicelli soup meal, it feels like all those memories flush back with the warm, yummy soup.

– Ziqi He

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