Thai- red duck curry

 

Duck-Red Curry

Kaeng Phed Ped Yang.

The red curry paste is best made at home. It has a base of a few ingredients, which can be ground and frozen. You can then build up the flavour to suit your own palate by adding further spices and herbs and your choice of meat—beef, chicken, or duck.

While generally, meats are used in red curry, a whole fish fried and served can be just as delicious.

Serves 6

The Red curry paste

10 dry red chillies

2 to 6 bird eye Thai chilli or any other red chillies - Thai chillies are extremely hot

1 tsp salt

Galangal - thumb size or a paste

2 hearts lemon grass - the white part in the root of the stalk

3 red shallots - ground to a pulp

1 pod of garlic

2 roots of the coriander leaf stalk

Zest of a lime

Toast and grind

10 white peppercorns

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp coriander seeds

optionally 1 tbsp of shrimp paste

You will also need

500 ml /16 oz coconut milk or cream

Kaffir lime leaves

Julienne of red chillies - non spicy

Handful of Thai basil

1 tbsp fish sauce

lime juice

15 lychees

1.5 kg/3.3 lb of duck breast, allowing it to poach and cook in the curry or already roasted and sliced thick.

 

In a large wok, heat a drop of oil and fry the other half of the paste. Once aromatic, pour in 500 ml of coconut milk or cream, keep stirring and bring it to a boil.

If poaching, add the duck and lower the heat; kaffir lime leaves, slit chillies or large green chillies; capsicum; Thai basil; palm sugar and fish sauce. Allow the duck to cook through. Lastly, add the lychees and the roast duck if using that. Cover and rest for 10 minutes before service.

 

Taste for balance.

Served with boiled rice.

Mango salad and papaya salad are great sides.

 

Tips

 

For the beef, it is recommended to marinade it in half the paste and add it while frying the paste. You do not include the lychee fruit with the beef.

 

The lychee fruit should not be cooked but just warmed through. Resting the duck will keep it moist and allow the flavours to be absorbed. Cut thick (against the grain) slices to serve.

 

The colour of the curry will be dependent on the red chillies used.

The deeper the red, the more traditional the curry!

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.

Photo courtesy Niloufer Mavalvala