Recipe - Braised Duck (Or Mussels) W Red Curry

2 Fivepound ducks
Salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste
One fourth cup Rendered duck fat or
vegetable oil
16 md Shallots; thinly cut or sliced up
8 Garlic cloves; minced
2 tablespoon Freshly grated ginger
One fourth cup Red curry paste; see recipe
5 cup Brown duck stock or chicken
stock
One fourth cup Fish sauce
1 cn Coconut milk; (14 oz)
3 tablespoon Palm sugar or brown sugar
One fourth cup Fresh lime juice
2 bn Cilantrochopped; stems
trimmed
2 Limes; peeled and minced
1 bn Scallions; white & One half green
part only, trimmed & thinly
cut or sliced up along diagonal
1 Recipe jasmine rice; see
recipe

Bone ducks and remove the skin. (You can ask a butcher to do this,
reserving the carcass for stock making and skin for rendering.) Cut breasts
in half, then into about 3 pieces across the width. Chop legs and thighs
into about 4 pieces each. (Remember: You want to start with generous pieces
of meat, since they will shrink when cooked. Don't worry about cleaning the
tendons, since they will soften with long cooking.) Sprinkle meat with salt
and pepper.

Heat rendered fat in a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven over high heat.
Brown duck on all sides, then transfer meat to a platter.

Reduce heat to medium low and cook shallots until well browned, about 15
minutes. Add garlic and ginger, increase heat to medium high and cook about
a minute, then add curry paste. Cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes.

Return duck meat to pot along with brown duck stock and cook at a slow
simmer, uncovered, until meat is tender, about 40 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a platter and reserve in a warm
place. Puree sauce in a blender and strain back into pot. Cook over high
heat until liquid is reduced by one third. Stir in fish sauce, coconut
milk, sugar, and lime juice, and remove from heat. Stir duck back into warm
sauce. Ladle stew over Jasmine Rice. Garnish with remaining ingredients and
serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings

Variation RED CURRY WITH MUSSELS: 4 pounds fresh mussels, washed and
debearded

Prepare above recipe, substituting vegetable oil instead of duck fat, and
fish stock in place of duck stock. After cooking the sauce, add the mussels
along with the stock and simmer mussels until shells open. After
transferring to platter, remove mussels from shells and stir into warm
sauce. Yield: 6 servings TAMALES WORLD TOUR SHOW #WT1A08

NOTES : Formatted by Holly Butman

Recipe by: Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #811 by Holly Butman
butma001@acpub.duke.edu on Sep 26, 1997