The Centuries-Old Chinese Cooking Technique That Makes Any Meat Juicier

For the longest time, I thought my loyalty would always be to classic Chinese roasted duck—until a life-changing lunch at May Flower Restaurant in San Jose, CA. Their tea-smoked duck arrived on a platter, neatly cut and reassembled. The skin was glistening and crisp, the meat pink and tender, with just enough smoky depth to feel novel, but still comfortingly Chinese. Unlike roasted duck, it didn’t leave a lingering fatty mouthfeel that begged to be chased with hot tea.

That meal stuck with me. But at the time, I was a newly minted mother, wrapped in the fog of early parenthood, and the idea of recreating that duck at home felt like a far-off fantasy.

Years later, on a summer trip to Japan, I had an unforgettable smoked sashimi tuna at Ichiu in Tokyo—this was surprising since I don’t even typically like raw tuna. That experience reignited something in me: Days after I got home, I bought a donabe smoker and began experimenting with vegetables, eggs, seafood, and even fruit.

Eventually, my memory of that May Flower smoked duck resurfaced. I wanted to recreate it. The result was…close, but never quite right. Maybe nostalgia made the goalpost move. Or perhaps I needed to dig deeper. Now, after years of tinkering and plenty of trial and error, I’ve landed on a version of tea-smoked duck that captures the spirit of that May Flower meal while staying doable in a home kitchen.

A Sichuan Classic, with a Smoky Twist

To understand what makes tea-smoked duck so special—and why recreating it at home is no small feat—it helps to know where it comes from and how it evolved.

Tea-smoked duck (zhang cha ya) is one of Sichuan’s most celebrated dishes, known for its layered preparation: A marinated whole duck is steamed, then smoked over tea leaves, then deep-fried to crisp the skin. Historically, smoked meats helped Chinese families survive long winters. Today, tea-smoked duck appears on banquet tables and special occasions, less so in home kitchens.

The dish’s modern popularity began with Zhang Guoliang, who opened a duck stall in 1928 near a Chengdu alley called “the mousehole,” a hotspot for teahouses and wine shops. A restaurant bearing his name—Mr. Zhang’s Mousehole Duck—still operates today.

The name “zhang cha ya” is often mistranslated as “camphor and tea-smoked duck,” possibly due to the homophone “zhang” for camphor. However, as cookbook author Fuchsia Dunlop notes in her book The Food of Sichuan, many experts believe the dish’s origins lie in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, where duck was smoked over tea leaves—techniques likely introduced to Sichuan by chefs like Huang Jinlin, who popularized it at Auntie’s Feast restaurant.

Making This Complex Dish More Approachable

Traditionally, tea-smoked duck is made with a whole bird and involves steaming and deep-frying. To simplify things for the home cook, I developed a version using boneless duck breasts, with options for a stovetop wok-smoking method or grill-smoking method, finished with a final sear to ensure crisp skin. I also drew on Fuchsia Dunlop’s expertise from her book and conducted brining and smoking experiments to refine the technique and bring the dish within the reach of a home cook.

Two Paths to Flavor: Dry Brine or Wet Marinade

When it comes to curing duck for tea-smoking, there isn’t just one “right” way. In Sichuan, cooks often favor a dry brine—a simple rub of spices, salt, and a small amount of Shaoxing wine that seasons the meat while drawing out excess moisture. It’s straightforward, traditional, and has the bonus of helping the skin crisp up beautifully later.

But there’s another path: a wet marinade. By simmering soy sauce, spices, sugar, and wine into a seasoned broth, you get a cure that imparts layers of sweet, salty, and aromatic flavor to the duck, while the acidity of the wet brine tenderizes the meat. When I was testing my recipe, my tasters often gravitated toward the marinated version for its tenderness and subtle sweetness.

So which should you choose? The dry brine yields a firmer texture and a rosier color (especially if you use the optional pink curing salt), with flavors that lean towards peppery and savory. The wet marinade gives you a deeper fragrance, a softer texture (from the acidity in the marinade), and a more pronounced sweet-salty profile. Neither is better—they’re simply different interpretations of the same dish.

I’ve included both options here because they showcase the range within tea-smoked duck. Whether you want the crisper, more traditional character of the dry brine or the lush, flavor-packed qualities of the wet marinade, both roads lead to a worthy end: smoky, tender duck with just the right balance of richness and restraint.

Choosing the Smoking Ingredients

The smoking ingredients make or break this dish. Former Serious Eats editor Kenji Lopez-Alt and contributor Tim Chin wrote an extensive guide on wok smoking, including a long list of ingredients used for smoking. Everyone has their favorite combination. Dunlop uses almond and peanut shells, cypress clippings, and jasmine tea; food writer and chef Kian Lam Kho favors tea leaves and tangerine peel; and other recipes use flour or starch to keep sugar from sticking.

I opted for a simple mixture of white rice, green tea leaves, and brown sugar, skipping wood chips to avoid overpowering the delicate tea fragrance. The rice lends fragrance, tea adds complexity, and sugar helps with caramelization. My favorite teas for smoking are lapsang souchong and hojicha, due to their rich and toasty flavor profiles.

Loose-leaf tea is essential—avoid teabags, which burn too quickly. If you’re curious about adding wood, go with mild types like apple, cherry, or oak.

Smoking Duck in a Wok

If you don’t have a smoker or a grill, the wok is your best friend for this and other smoking recipes. It’s compact, versatile, and surprisingly practical at infusing smoke.

Here’s the setup: Line a wok with foil, pile your smoking ingredients in the center, and top with a wire rack. Once smoke appears (about two minutes over medium-high heat), add the duck breasts, skin-side up, cover, and lower the heat. For me, 12–14 minutes brought the internal temp to 133°F—perfect for medium-rare. After smoking, the duck will be flavorful but pale in color, so I call for a brief sear in a cast iron pan to deepen its flavor and crisp up the skin. Wok-smoking is wildly effective at creating rich, complex flavor—without the bulk of a grill or the hassle of a smoker. With just foil, tea, and a little patience, the humble wok transforms duck into something transcendent.

Smoking on a Grill

If you don’t have a wok or simply prefer the grill, you can smoke on any charcoal grill. Use a two-zone setup: coals on one side, duck on the other. To keep your smoking packet from burning too quickly, wrap your tea/rice/sugar mixture in foil and slit the top to let the smoke escape.

Keep the grill temperature around 320°F. My duck hit 133°F after 15 minutes. I tried crisping the skin directly over the coals, but the fat caused flare-ups and uneven char. Searing in a cast iron pan—the same way you would for wok-smoked duck—worked far better for even browning and that signature crunch.

Serving Tea-Smoked Duck

There’s no single right way to serve tea-smoked duck. In her book, Dunlop notes she’s seen it served cold as an appetizer or stir-fried with young ginger. In Chengdu, it’s rolled in lotus leaf pancakes. At San Tung restaurant in San Francisco, it comes with bao buns. My personal favorite? Szechwan Kitchen in Covina, CA, which serves it with tongue-tingling Sichuan pepper for a punchy contrast to the smoke.

This recipe gives you flavor options and two smoking methods, any combination of which will lead to a memorable dish. Once you’ve got the basics down, riff on the aromatics, play with your favorite teas, or sneak in some fruitwood chips, or even try tea smoking with other meats. Tea-smoked duck epitomizes Sichuan ingenuity, layering dry or wet flavorings, tea, and smoke into a dish that’s sweet, salty, umami-rich, irresistibly smoky, and so much more than the sum of its parts.

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