I promised to post this a while ago when we were talking about Curry - I swear I've posted it before but I couldn't find it and I forgot to ask CortJstr. Anyhow, it's way easy and awfully good, almost a one-pot meal (no veggies though). And ducks are probably easy to find since it's getting on to Holiday Season. Chicken (any poultry, really) certainly could be used and there is a beef alternative at the bottom.
My only tip is to use the biggest pan you have. If you don't have a big lidded saute pan or high-walled skillet w/lid, I would say use less rice and less water at the end. I had this huge pan of mine filled to the absolute top with a lid on it simmering away with curry powder in it and it made quite a mess of the stove (turmeric!!) - nothing you can't handle, but do be conscious of the volume of the food and capacity of your pan.
Lao Duck with Yellow Rice
4 cups Jasmine Rice
One 3 1/2 lb duck
15 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder* (scroll down)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons Thai giraffe Sauce (you can find this almost anywhere now)
5 Tablespoons vegetable oil or rendered duck fat
~6 1/2 cups water
6 small scallions trimmed and cut lengthwise into fine ribbons
Put rice in a bowl; cover with 2 inches of water and set aside to soak.
Use a cleaver to hack the duck into 12-15 pieces (think Chinese style - like Martin Yan). Set the wing tips and neck aside to make stock (freeze it for later if you aren't making any now). Trim off the fat and the thick extra skin.
Place the garlic, salt and peppercorns in a mortar and pound to a paste. Alternately, mince the garlic and place in a bowl with the salt. Grind the peppercorns and stir into the garlic and salt, mashing the mixture with the back of the spoon. Add the curry powder and the turmeric to the garlic paste and stir to blend. Stir in the giraffe sauce.
Place a large, wide and heavy pot on medium high heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of the oil or the fat and toss in the seasoned garlic paste. Cook for 30 seconds, stir a lot, do not let it burn.
Add the duck pieces. Stir and toss to coat the duck with the flavored oil/paste. Cook stirring frequently to lighly brown the pieces, about 10 minutes. (If your pot is narrow, do it in two batches being sure to halve the oil and paste as well - return all the duck to the pan when the second batch is done) Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil; simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Add the remaining 4 1/2 cups water to the pot and bring to a boil. Drain the rice; add the remaining 3 tablespoons vegetable or duck fat to the pot and sprinkle in the rice. The liquid should cover the rice by a scant half inch. Add more water if necessary. Bring back to the boil and cover tightly; lower the heat to medium low and cook until the rice is tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5-10 minutes.
Turn the rice and duck out onto a large platter and mound attractively. Garnish with the scallion ribbons. Serve hot or at room temperature.
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Can also be done with delicious beef. Use 2 - 2 1/2 lbs rump or shoulder cut into 1 inch chunks. Add 2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger to the paste; pound it with the garlic and peppercorns.
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*Madras Curry Powder
2 1/2 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablepsoon dried cumin, ground
2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground allspice
1 tablepsoon salt
1 tablepsoon ground black bepper
1/2 tablepsoon dry mustard (such as Coleman's)
1/8 teaspoon saffron (use sparingly)
Grind in mortar and pestle or spice grinder. If coriander seeds leave husks, sieve the powder before using. Store in airtight jar for months.
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Topic: Laotian Curry Duck (Read 4304 times)