Theres something magical about the combination of rich duck meat and Thai red curry!
This duck curry recipe features duck breast with golden skin served in a coconut red curry sauce.
Add lychees or pineapples for a very special dish thatsto die for!
I like to serve duck curry with some of the golden skin above the sauce line, rather than tossing the duck pieces through the curry which makes the skin more soggy.
- THAT IS NOT A PRAWN/SHRIMP in the photo!
Its the hole in a lychee where the seed was removed!
Plus, as much as I love my reliableChicken Red Curry, duck is special.
Ingredients in Thai Red Duck Curry
Heres what you better make duck curry.
Look for skin on boneless breast.
It costs more than chicken (~$18 for 500g / 1 lb), but its special!
A luxury product reserved for Thai royalty!
However, I would never hesitate to use pineapple instead preferably fresh, else canned.
And tip for you Asian branded lychees are actually very, very good!
I was taken by surprise.
Red curry paste Its pretty well document on this website: Maesri is my preferred!
It really makes a difference!
So I ended up taking it out of the ingredients.)
Coconut milk Not all coconut milk is created equal!
Good ones are made with 85%+ coconut so have better flavour.
Economical ones are diluted with water.
Ayam is my default (89% coconut).
Full fat c’mon!
Low fat is thinner and has less coconut flavour.
Makrut lime leaves For authentic Thai curry flavour!
Imparts a special earthy/herby fresh lime flavour into sauces.
Fairly accessible these days at large grocery stores and Asian stores.
They freeze 100% perfectly which is handy.
(Note: formerly known as kaffir lime leaves.
The name has been changed due to racial associations.)
See FAQ for uses for leftover lime leaves.Cant find fresh?Still worth making with dried!
Though it is worth making a bit of effort to find fresh.
Fish sauce This is used as the salt in red curry.
More flavour than plain salt!
Sugar For the right touch of sweetness you find in red curry sauce.
I like to serve duck curry with some of the golden skin above the sauce line, rather than tossing the duck pieces through the curry which makes the skin more soggy.
The beans can also be substituted with other vegetables I chose it for colour and shape.
Red chilli For optional garnish.
Coriander/cilantro For garnish, Not vital!
Green beans I chose this as I thought the green colour would look nice in the red sauce.
Serve the sauce and duck should be ready around the same time, ready to plate up and serve!
1. cooking the duck breast
Both duck and chicken are poultry, but duck is structurally different.
Because of this, duck breast cooked to medium rare is like abeautiful steak tender, rich and juicy.
On the other hand, we would never eat chicken breast medium rare.
Note: full duck breast cooking explanations got lengthy, so I moved it to a separate post.
I figure it will be handy for future use!
SeeHow to Cook Duck Breast.
Then pat the skin dry with paper towels and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
COLD pan with NO OIL Dont turn the stove on yet.
Place the duck skin side down in an unheatedoven-proofpan without any oil.
The pan can be cast iron, non-stick, or a regular pan.
This is to prevent the skin from curling and wrinkling.
Cook on low 10 minutes Now you’re able to turn the stove on!
Low if its a strong stove, or medium low if its a weak burner.
The more slowly you cook the duck, the more fat you will render out which means crispier skin.
Its low maintenance too, because its low heat.
Think Chinese BBQ duck.
Fully cooked, and delicious!
Slicethe duck breast just shy of 5mm / 0.2 thick.
Do this just before placing it in the curry sauce.
It can rest for well beyond 5 minutes because the flesh warms up once placed in the hot sauce.
It makes a massive difference to improve flavour.
If you just stir it into liquid, the flavour is so unimpressive!
Sauce Add the chicken stock first and simmer to reduce by half.
Stir to combine then simmer for 2 minutes.
(If using other vegetables, add them in based on the cook time).
Prevent screen from sleeping
Visual purpose as well.
Then I spoon the rest of the curry sauce, lychees etc around the duck breast.
Extra Thai basil, coriander/cilantro and slices of red chilli.
PS See FAQ below for suggested sides to complete a Thai menu!
Is this an authentic Thai dish?
Yes, duck curry is a real dish in Thailand.
Dozer is busting open his piggy bank to donation match up to our goal of raising $20,000 for Sophie’s Legacy,donated directly to the charityor raised at the book signing event this weekend.
I opted to start with raw duck breast so everybody making this recipe has a consistent result!
and Asian eggplant is always a favourite (excellent sponge for sauce!).
Recipe method why isnt the duck braised?
Wouldnt that improve flavour?
In theory it would but there are also drawbacks.
Firstly, duck skin is thicker than chicken skin.
The skin does get soggy but its nice to eat.
Duck skin, on the other hand, gets quite rubbery when braised.
Which is why some whole-duck recipes call for steaming first before cutting and deep frying then stirred into sauces.
And other duck curry recipes call for using a whole pre-cooked Chinese roast duck.
The other solution would be to remove the duck skin before cooking but youd lose so much flavour!!
So essentially, I am doing the former here cooking the duck through perfectly then serving with the sauce.
Then I planned to shred the flesh and stir through the curry sauce.
But honestly, thats a lot more effort, time and cost.
What side salads do you suggest?
Asian Slaw,Asian Side Salad,Smashed Cucumbersor, impress me Thai Green Papaya Salad!
What starter would you suggest for a Thai meal?
What about dessert??
I want crispy duck skin!
Especially thin crispy skin, like duck.
Thickpork cracklingcan take a bit of sauce without going soggy.
But more fragile crispy skin, like duck and, say,salmon skin, cannot.
Which is why you always see sauces and purees servedundercrispy skin fish and duck at fancy restaurants.
Its not the goal.
Not for this curry.
Trust me, you wont miss it.
Yum but I wanted to make the duck from scratch.
Others recipes cook a whole duck from scratch.
Ive also had duck curry with shredded duck meat (I think it was leg).
As for marylands, I did consider this but to be honest, using breast was easier.
No bone to worry about removing the flesh off, and it cooks faster.
So breast it is!
Use for leftover makrut lime leaves
Plenty of suggestions because Im a fan of Thai food!
How long do leftovers last?
Can it be frozen?
3 4 days in the fridge, and YES it freezes well!
Thaw then gently reheat so you dont overcook the duck.
Yes, this happens.
Their goal is to provide mental health support for vets to reduce suicide in the profession.
Unfortunately, the event filled up too fast before I was able to share it here on my website!
you’re free to alsosign the petition hereto lobby the government for change.
He is using his life savings almost 13 years!
