Duck and a sleepless night

Another sleepless night. Nowadays, when I have people over at our house I can’t get to sleep till wee hours in the morning perhaps about 4-5 am. It is quite fustrating as I toss trying to get to sleep and finally wake up because I know it is futile just lying there.

We celebrated 2 birthdays in a night and I managed to try a duck recipe from another blogger, Terri. Her blog is good and I enjoy reading and trying her recipes. Yes, I think it is meant to be Lor Up or Teochew Duck. However I think the original recipe is more complex. Although I am half Teochew (from mum’s side) I’ve never cooked this before as my mum doesn’t know the recipe herself . So I think I better do some pestering to get the real deal. Anyway, I was happy with the outcome and hope my guests were happy enough as a compensation for the birthday cake I attempted as it was … perhaps a disaster. Boo.

The duck was not difficult to cook, but I’ve never cooked a duck ever before hence I was cautious to try not to burn or spoil it. I also went “duck” hunting to see where they stock it. I found them at Woolies and the Adelaide Central Market and specialty butchers. The whole ducks I saw were of course more expensive than chickens (free-range) and the cheapest I found was in Woolies and shockingly not the market by about $2-3/kg. This is for the same type of duck, same source and packaging! Goes to show our fresh market is not cheap so shop around.

Anyway, onto the recipe! It took me 2 hours this first time but it could be faster the next time as I’m sure practise makes perfect.

1 whole duck

180ml light soya sauce (I used less the Terri)

150gm sugar

about 250-300ml water

7 thick slices ginger

4-5 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. In a cold wok, put oil then add sugar and ginger. Then heat up the wok till medium and stir sugar till melted and slightly golden (caramelised ). I found that quite a bit of my sugar did not completely melt however this did not affect the outcome as it will dissolve later.

2. Add the duck and sear the skin till golden brown all over by turning all over.

3. Add soy sauce and water and stir. Bring the sauce to simmer then cover for about 1 hour or until cooked.

4. Remove oil and if the sauce is too runny simmer a little longer uncovered to reduce. Add soy sauce/sugar to adjust to taste and serve with duck.

Hope you try this!

* We didn’t chop the duck up but I think this would be a good idea next time as some pieces were bigger than others and the guests might be shy so guess you have to do the work.

Green Curry

I first made this recipe after watching an episode of Jamie Oliver, and not some Asian ( more precisely Thai ) aunty! I did not keep the recipe but I remember all it needed was the “green stuff” ( see below ) and some coconut milk. Easy. I made it again and it turned out alright again.

“Green Stuff” ( ingredients here are only agak-agak ( ie estimates )

half a bunch of coriander leaves

2-3 spring onions

1 stalk of lemon grass, crushed

1-2 green chillies ( more if you want it spicier )

1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder ( ketumbar )

about 2-3cms knob of ginger

1 onion

about 400mls coconut milk

about 500gms chicken ( chicken pieces with bones give a better flavour than chicken breast cubes )

optional – kaffir lime leaves, peas

1. Blend coriander leaves, spring onions, onion and ginger until a paste. Fry this with the crushed lemongrass, coriander powder and kaffir lime leaves in about 3 tablespoons oil until fragrant.

2. Add chicken pieces and keep frying to brown/seal chicken.

3. Add coconut milk and bring to boil. Add green chillies and bring the mixture to a simmer. Just before chicken is fully cooked add in peas to finish off if you want for more serves of vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.

Chicken pieces will take about 1/2 to cook depending on the size. Chicken breast cubes will take about 15 mins. Serve with rice.