What it is
Roast goose (燒鵝) is one of the Cantonese roast meats known as siu mei (燒味). A seasoned whole bird hangs in a charcoal oven and roasts at high heat until the skin turns crisp and shiny. In Taiwan it turns up at Hong Kong-style roast meat counters and at some goose shops, next to the plainer salt-water goose.
Where it came from
Roast goose belongs to Guangdong and Hong Kong. One well-known style comes from Gujing (古井), a town in Xinhui District, Jiangmen, where the birds were once roasted in a disused old well. Gas and electric ovens have now almost entirely replaced it. Hong Kong roasters work in much the same way, and the same method is used for roast duck. A survey released by the Guangzhou city government in 2016 ranked roast goose the city's most popular dish, ahead of white-cut chicken and roast squab.
Taiwan's goose shops are built around boiled salt-water goose (鹹水鵝) and smoked goose. In Xiaying, Tainan, the farmers' association began promoting goose rearing in 1979, and the geese its producers raise are now sold all over the island.
How it is made
For the Cantonese version, the goose is coated in seasoning, hung up and roasted over charcoal at high heat. A good one has glossy, crisp skin and juicy meat with no gamey smell. Taiwanese goose shops also make smoked goose (煙燻鵝). A tea-smoked bird takes several hours and comes out golden-red with a honey-like aroma. Some versions carry a faint scent of sugarcane.
How to eat it
Order by the portion and share the plate. Cantonese shops serve roast goose with sour plum sauce (酸梅醬). In Taiwan, goose shops may put out ginger strips, pepper salt and a house dipping sauce, and goose rice or noodles turn it into a full meal.
Around Taiwan
- Kaohsiung
- Le Pont (橋邊鵝肉) in Renwu is named after its first shop, which stood beside a bridge. Its roast goose has caramel-coloured skin and a smoky aroma, with crisp cucumber and peanuts on the side. The owner's goose fat with fried scallion goes over rice and blanched greens.
- Central
- In Taichung, Mingxing Goose (明星鵝肉) sells a smoked goose with a light sugarcane scent. It is chewier than the shop's salt-water goose, and comes with ginger strips and pepper salt.
