One of my very favourites. A Thai style curry with falvours of chilli, garlic, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and kaffir lime in a coconut milk broth – you can vary the quantities of these to find the balance that works for you. This recipe produces a very hot curry – there is a lot of chilli in it. There is no better way to cook a duck breast than this.
You could make your own red curry paste, but you will struggle to produce anything as good as you can buy.
Serve with rice.
Ingredients
5 Red bird’s eye chillis, sliced (or use a Scotch Bonnet for a slightly different flavour)
5cm Ginger, sliced
3 Cloves of garlic, sliced
2 dsp of red curry paste
1 tbsp of ground nut oil
250ml of coconut milk
2 dsp of fish suace
juice of a lime
4 fresh (or frozen, but not dried) Kaffir lime leaves
1 tin of sliced bamboo shoots
handful of green beans
2 duck breasts with skin
washed baby spinach
1/4 tsp palm sugar
Equipment
A heavy bottomed frying pan
A heavy bottomed deep pan
Method
1. Slice the chilli, garlic and ginger.
2. Heat the oil in the pan then add the red curry paste. Fry until it becomes a vibrant red colour.
3. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli, fry until soft.
4. Add a splash of boiling water to the pan, scrape the bottom and sides of the pan.
 
5. Add the coocnut milk and stir well. Then add half the fish sauce, half the kaffir lime leavs, and the half of the lime juice.
6. Bring back to the boil, then add the bamboo shoots, then top up the suace with boiling water. How much you add depends on how thick you what the curry vs how mush time you have to simmer the broth. Start with 400ml – you can always add more later.
7. Bring back to the boil again, and then turn down the heat so the liquid is simmering lively. Simmer for at least 30 mins.
8. Prepare the green beans by triming and slicing, then add to the broth.
9. Heat the frying pan on a high heat, then place the duck breast into the hot pan skin side down. Do not add any oil – as the duck cooks it will cook in its own fat. Cook the duck breasts until the skin is crispy and the fat has rendered from the meat. Do not turn the duck breasts.
10. Add the spinach to the broth. It will wilt almost instantly, stir it in.
11. Move the cooked duck breasts to a chopping board skin side up. Slice the duck.
12. Add the remaining lime leaves, fish sauce, lime juice and the palm sugar and stir well.
13. Carefully transfer the slices of duck together and gently lower them into the broth. The easier way to do this is by sliding the knife underneath the sliced duck and using it to pick them as if one piece. The uncooked side of the duck breast should be immersed in the sauce, the crispy skin sitting above the level of the liquid. Poach the duck breast in the curry liquid until just slightly pink. Do NOT stir.
14. Remove the duck slices together and place on the plate with the suace and rice. Garnish with chopped corriander and serve immediately.
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