Teochew Braised Duck
Sabtu, 26 Desember 2020
Edit
Teochew braised duck (潮州滷鸭) was my mother's pièce de résistance. She ever had a dark, glistening duck for the dinner tabular array on Chinese New Year's Day eve. It was a fantastic complement to our steamboat dinner, something that nosotros could consume whilst the raw materials was cooking. To us, Chinese New Year, Mum as well as 滷鸭 were all 1 as well as the same thing.
One day, Mum wasn't around anymore. She left us but earlier Christmas, as well as equally Chinese New Year's Day loomed, I idea nosotros were going to conduct maintain the reunion dinner without 滷鸭. But I was wrong.
My brother, the novel caput of the family, gallantly undertook the onerous chore of braising a duck amongst caramel as well as black soya sauce. His get-go endeavour left much to last desired, to pose it mildly. We all picked at the 滷鸭 half-heartedly. No 1 said anything most the tasteless duck. In fact, no 1 said anything at all.
Everyone kept their heads downwards as well as ate inwards silence. Usually, nosotros would last chattering about,
Time passes, as well as our reunion dinner is similar a shot jolly as well as lively again. We assault my brother's duck amongst keen gusto because it has improved past times leaps as well as bounds. His Braised Duck similar a shot has the wonderful fragrance of caramel that was the trademark of Mum's 滷鸭. It took him several attempts to larn the remainder of ingredients as well as flavours but right.
I intend I should – ahem! – conduct maintain some credit inwards reengineering the recipe. I think Mum maxim "two as well as three". It was either 2 tablespoonful of tabular array salt as well as iii tablespoonful of sugar. Or it mightiness last iii tablespoonful of tabular array salt as well as 2 tablespoonful of sugar. Always heaped, never leveled. Very helpful, right?
The exceptional element inwards my mother's recipe is caramel. The duck is basted amongst a mix of caramel as well as black soya sauce for xv minutes earlier it's braised. This gives her duck the trademark dark, glistening sheen which is rarely seen on those that are non dwelling employment solid cooked. To allow the wonderful caramel flavour conduct maintain middle stage, my mother's recipe doesn't exercise whatever spices similar star aniseeds or cinnamon. There's PLENTY of galangal though, which is indispensable for teochew braised duck.
One of the purposes for having this spider web log is to tape my mother's recipes. With Chinese New Year's Day but circular the corner, there's no meliorate fourth dimension than similar a shot to portion her Spring Festival pièce de résistance: Teochew braised duck. Hope you lot similar it equally much equally nosotros do. Happy Year of the Tigress! Roar!
Teochew Braised Duck (潮州滷鸭)
(For 10 persons)
1 duck
iv tsp tabular array salt for marinating duck
200 g galangal, washed as well as sliced ¼ cm thick
xv cloves garlic amongst peel, washed
8 tbsp sugar
12o ml black soya sauce (I exercise Tiger brand, exceptional grade)
1 tbsp tabular array salt for seasoning stew
1 sprig coriander, washed as well as cutting 2-3 cm long
Optional
five pieces beancurd
10 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1. Remove duck head, neck, bottom, feet as well as get-go 2 joints of wings. Or you lot tin dismiss piece of work out them on if your wok or Dutch oven is big enough. I commonly continue these bits as well as pieces for soup. Remove whatever remaining pocket-size feathers on the duck amongst a couplet of tweezers. Bring a kettle of H2O to a boil. Place duck inwards a wok. Slowly pour boiling H2O all over duck. When cool plenty handle, launder duck thoroughly nether running water. Dry amongst newspaper towels. Rub tabular array salt evenly over duck, within as well as outside. Leave duck overnight inwards the refrigerator, covered.
2. Remove duck from refrigerator. Tuck one-half of galangal as well as garlic inwards duck's cavity. Place saccharide inwards a wok on high heat. (Have a pocket-size bowl of H2O laid upward if you've never made caramel before). When saccharide turns liquid, swirl it circular the wok similar a shot as well as then. When caramel turns medium brown, cut rut to real low. Continue swirling till color turns black brownish (like tea or black honey) as well as saccharide is no longer sugariness but non nevertheless bitter. If you're non sure, dip a spoon inwards the caramel, as well as then cool it inwards the bowl of water. Taste the caramel. If it's sweet, give it a few to a greater extent than seconds. If it's bitter, throw it away as well as start again!
3. When caramel is ready, add together ½ loving cup water. Be careful of the outburst of steam. Heat till caramel melts again. Add black soya sauce as well as stir to mix well. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower duck into the wok. Keep sauce bubbling slow over depression heat. Baste for xv minutes or thus till duck turns black amongst the color of caramel as well as black soya sauce. Add plenty H2O to comprehend one-half the duck (about 400 ml). Add salt, as well as remaining galangal as well as garlic. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce rut to depression as well as simmer gently, covered.
4. Baste in 1 lawsuit every 15-20 minutes. Turn duck over (carefully!) later xl minutes. Duck's laid upward later 1¼ hours (depending on the breed as well as age), or 1½ hours if you lot similar it actually soft as well as tender. Turn off heat. Remove duck to a plate to cool down. Carve or chop into bite-size pieces, as well as drizzle amongst some stewing sauce (without oil). Garnish amongst coriander. Serve amongst a mix of the stewing sauce (without oil), low-cal soya sauce as well as a fighting of white sesame sauce equally a dip. Or a mix of white vinegar, chopped chilli padis, garlic, tabular array salt as well as sugar. Or sambal chilli.
5. If adding hard-boiled eggs as well as beancurd, simmer these very, real gently for an 1 lx minutes or thus inwards the braising sauce later the duck's removed. Do non boil furiously or beancurd would liberate its creamy texture. Alternatively, marinate eggs as well as beancurd overnight inwards the sauce. Bring to a boil the side past times side day. Serve.
(For 10 persons)
1 duck
iv tsp tabular array salt for marinating duck
200 g galangal, washed as well as sliced ¼ cm thick
xv cloves garlic amongst peel, washed
8 tbsp sugar
12o ml black soya sauce (I exercise Tiger brand, exceptional grade)
1 tbsp tabular array salt for seasoning stew
1 sprig coriander, washed as well as cutting 2-3 cm long
Optional
five pieces beancurd
10 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1. Remove duck head, neck, bottom, feet as well as get-go 2 joints of wings. Or you lot tin dismiss piece of work out them on if your wok or Dutch oven is big enough. I commonly continue these bits as well as pieces for soup. Remove whatever remaining pocket-size feathers on the duck amongst a couplet of tweezers. Bring a kettle of H2O to a boil. Place duck inwards a wok. Slowly pour boiling H2O all over duck. When cool plenty handle, launder duck thoroughly nether running water. Dry amongst newspaper towels. Rub tabular array salt evenly over duck, within as well as outside. Leave duck overnight inwards the refrigerator, covered.
2. Remove duck from refrigerator. Tuck one-half of galangal as well as garlic inwards duck's cavity. Place saccharide inwards a wok on high heat. (Have a pocket-size bowl of H2O laid upward if you've never made caramel before). When saccharide turns liquid, swirl it circular the wok similar a shot as well as then. When caramel turns medium brown, cut rut to real low. Continue swirling till color turns black brownish (like tea or black honey) as well as saccharide is no longer sugariness but non nevertheless bitter. If you're non sure, dip a spoon inwards the caramel, as well as then cool it inwards the bowl of water. Taste the caramel. If it's sweet, give it a few to a greater extent than seconds. If it's bitter, throw it away as well as start again!
3. When caramel is ready, add together ½ loving cup water. Be careful of the outburst of steam. Heat till caramel melts again. Add black soya sauce as well as stir to mix well. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower duck into the wok. Keep sauce bubbling slow over depression heat. Baste for xv minutes or thus till duck turns black amongst the color of caramel as well as black soya sauce. Add plenty H2O to comprehend one-half the duck (about 400 ml). Add salt, as well as remaining galangal as well as garlic. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce rut to depression as well as simmer gently, covered.
4. Baste in 1 lawsuit every 15-20 minutes. Turn duck over (carefully!) later xl minutes. Duck's laid upward later 1¼ hours (depending on the breed as well as age), or 1½ hours if you lot similar it actually soft as well as tender. Turn off heat. Remove duck to a plate to cool down. Carve or chop into bite-size pieces, as well as drizzle amongst some stewing sauce (without oil). Garnish amongst coriander. Serve amongst a mix of the stewing sauce (without oil), low-cal soya sauce as well as a fighting of white sesame sauce equally a dip. Or a mix of white vinegar, chopped chilli padis, garlic, tabular array salt as well as sugar. Or sambal chilli.
5. If adding hard-boiled eggs as well as beancurd, simmer these very, real gently for an 1 lx minutes or thus inwards the braising sauce later the duck's removed. Do non boil furiously or beancurd would liberate its creamy texture. Alternatively, marinate eggs as well as beancurd overnight inwards the sauce. Bring to a boil the side past times side day. Serve.