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Photo by Holly A. Heyser
My duck and goose cookbook is almost done — we go into the design phase this month! — and in it are scores of new recipes that have never appeared on this site; I wanted to give loyal readers something new to chew on… literally. One of my favorite recipes in the book is a Thai green curry duck.
Now I consider myself a pretty good cook, but whenever I venture outside the Western tradition I try to seek out people who know more about the food than I do. In this case, my friend Jax Phongsavath’s mom. Jax is as American as I am, but her mom is from Thailand. So nervously I ran my green curry past her. I was overjoyed to get the “Thai Mom Seal of Approval” for that recipe. Only thing Jax said to me was that her mom usually made red curry with duck.
Huh. OK, then. Guess I’ll made a red curry duck, too. Only my publisher wasn’t keen on two Thai duck curries in the book. So here’s a sneak preview of an outtake. Hope you like it!
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
Thai Red Curry Duck
You can make this dish with any wild or domestic duck or goose, and you can use either skin-on or skinless breast meat. I used skinless breast meat here. If you want to use skin-on, sear the skin side of the duck breast until it’s crispy and set aside; don’t cook the meat side. Follow the recipe as written from there.
Most of the ingredients here are available at any major supermarket, and those that might be hard to find I’ve listed as optional. But each one adds to the authentic Thai flavor, so try to get them if you can. The curry paste is the most vital: If you can’t find it in your market, you can buy red curry paste online.
Serve with white steamed rice and a crisp beer, or an off-dry white wine such as a Gewurstraminer. Once you make this recipe, you can reheat it as leftovers for a few days.
Serves 4.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass, white parts only (optional)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 yellow onion, sliced thinly top to root
- 2 to 6 small hot chiles, chopped
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 1 13-ounce can coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
- 1 pound diced, peeled potatoes
- 2 tablespoons sugar (palm sugar if you can get it)
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 pound duck or goose breasts, sliced thin
- Lime juice to taste
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
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- Heat the peanut oil in a wok or a heavy saute pan over high heat. The moment it smokes, add the lemongrass, ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the onion and chiles stir-fry another minute or two, then mix in the curry paste. Stir-fry the curry paste until it begins to separate a little, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stir well to combine. Fill up the coconut milk can with water and pour that in, too. Add the fish sauce and the potatoes and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are almost tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- When the potatoes are just about tender, add the pineapple chunks and the sugar. Add salt or more fish sauce to taste. Cook the pineapple for a minute or two before adding in the sliced duck breast.
- The duck breast will release some juice in a minute or two. When it does, stir the curry well and add the cilantro and lime juice to taste. Turn off the heat and serve immediately over white rice.
Do you think this recipe would work well for shovelers or other strong flavoured ducks? Looks tasty, can’t wait to try it.
Hank,
You also “almost” have several copies of your duck cookbook sold! Press, print, and shelve, so that we the fans can start shelling out to make them disappear. We can’t wait for the book release! The recipe looks delicious and can’t wait to try it, along with all the new recipes in your Duck Cook Book. Tell your publisher that the cookbook zombies are hungry for recipe brains. Thanks for using us as Guinea pigs on this recipe!
It’s funny, I lived in Thailand and had curry with duck as a staple – but never with pinapple in it. I had been led to believe that it was an American addition.. But if it passes the Thai mother test of approval, it must be a regional difference. I ADORE the taste of it with the pineapple! I think this is an easy way to start a non-duck lover on the path to enlightenment. Nice Job, Hank!
Damon: Yes, it would work GREAT with that kind of duck. Just make sure to trim away all the skin and fat.
Melanie: Actually the Thai mother test was with the green curry, so I don’t actually know if real Thais use pineapple in their red curry duck. I like it, too, though, so I am keeping it.
I think no duck curry – green or red – is complete without pea aubergines. Those little bullets of bitterness really work against the rich meat!
there are a host of fantastic South East Asian duck recipes; a personal favourite is duck braised in spiced orange juice. I had it in Can Tho and ended up eating three dishes of it!!!
This Thai red curry duck looks very delicious. By the way, I’m looking forward to your duck and goose cookbook.
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I’m looking for a mango/chicken curry recipe. Do you think It would taste good with this curry sauce?