The Bonding Tool

As mentioned in Saturday’s post, my lunch was graciously prepared by Mrs. Lana Graham. She is originally from Thailand and had studied in the UK. While abroad on a student’s budget, she had no choice but to learn cooking via telephone from her mother and sister (who then owned a restaurant in Thailand). Today, she is an accomplished home chef, whipping up authentic Thai cuisine whenever her banker husband entertains. When Lana participated in her daughter’s international school’s food festival, somebody shouted, “Go to booth number 7, they have out of this world Pad Thai!!!” And like bees to honey, her delicious contribution was sold out in no time!

Guru Lana, asking if I’m ready to take a lesson on Thai Red Curry with French Duck Breasts.
Hmmm… sounds delicious already, doesn’t it?

Mis en place for Duck in Thai Red Curry.

So why is the title of this blog in French when obviously this is Thai cuisine? Pardon my French if they were used wrongly. Well, that’s because Missy Duckie was imported from France for about S$30 per kilogram (breast meat). And who said the French doesn’t eat anything non-French? A French blogger posted this “Qui se laissera tenter par un petit canard quasiment confit dans une sauce à l’ananas pimentée juste à point, aux saveurs riches de curry rouge et aux effluves incroyables de basilic thaï ? Et bien… Moi! Et toute ma petite famille qui s’est régalée de ce plat délicieux!”

Below are the galleries for cooking the Duck in Thai Red Curry: (Click on the first picture of each gallery for step by step cooking instructions. Enjoy 🙂

Part 1: Get Your Duck Ready Not Rubbery!

Mis en place for Duck in Thai Red Curry.

Boneless Duck Breasts with Skin.

Lana getting ready to cook.

Place the duck breasts skin side down on a heavy non-stick pan.

Sprinkle some salt (sea or table) on the duck breasts.

Do not keep turning the meat. Allow the skin to brown and fats to render out.

After about 5-8 minutes, check the skin side to see if has browned sufficiently.

Once the skin has turned golden and crisp, turn the duck breasts over to sear the other side.

Remove the crispy seared pieces onto a plate and discard the oil from the duck skin.

As long as the skin is crisp and golden and the meat side is seared, it is ready. You do not have to fully cook the breasts. Leave it aside to cool slightly for meat juices to redistribute within and also for easier handling during slicing.

After about 10-15 minutes, slice each breast into half lengthwise and further slice them into bite size pieces as shown in later photographs.

Lana sliced the meat into even thickness.

As you can see, the meat is pink not bloody. The chopping board remained clear not stained.

Put sliced breasts onto a plate and get the pot ready.

Part 2: It’s Time For The Duck To Swim.

You will need a heavy bottom stockpot and 1 litre of packaged Coconut Milk.

Lana puts in the creamy part of the Coconut Milk into the pot and pour out the rest into a bowl. She opened the package and scrape out more of the creamy milk into the pot, over medium heat.

I’m a lazy cook and here’s what I needed. This package is 50g.

Next she puts in 75g of the packaged Red Curry Mix. This is the amount for 3 duck breasts.

Lana usually make her own red curry paste but for the sake of us who hasn’t have the time nor patience, she has used packaged paste this time. She used a brand that she found to be tasty.

Mix the paste well into the coconut cream.

Keep stirring at this point to prevent the coconut and curry paste from burning.

Add the coconut from the bowl into the pot a ladle at a time and let it simmer to a slow boil. Do not pour all at once. Add duck and adjust the coconut milk needed to about half the meat level.

Give the meat a few quick stir and add very ripe and soft fresh Pineapple (not canned) triangles into the pot. Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Add ripened but firm cherry tomatoes into the pot and stir to mix for a couple of minutes.

As you cook, adjust with more ladles of coconut milk. The eventual curry is thick not watery. Very flavoursome from the meat, sweet from the pineapples and tangy from the tomatoes.

Next, add a handful of Kaffir Limes Leaves. You may tear them slightly to release the essential oils for more fragrance.

Keep adding coconut milk until the desired consistency. Remember, it’s a ladle at a time. Let the curry simmer until oil exudes and rises to the top. Stir every now and then to prevent scorching at the bottom of pot.

Add Thai Aubergines (baby eggplants). They should be cooked outside but retain a crunchy inside, according to Lana.

Add one tablespoon of Nam Pla (Fish Sauce) into the pot. Stir well and do a taste test. If the curry is not salty enough, add more fish sauce. We found the curry needed extra sweetness so Lana added palm sugar. Look at the photo closely, I think it’s a tablespoon. You have to guesstimate here and add to your desired taste.

Throw in a big bunch of Thai Basil.

Simmer until everything is vibrant in colour with good texture not mushy.

Final seasonings adjusted, turn off the fire. Give it a final stir and ladle out into serving bowls.

Part 3: All Aboard!

The final countdown… Tada!

*Chope! That’s mine 😀

The sweet smile on her face says it all… Thai hospitality is indisputable!
Have you ever seen any well heeled cook without breaking a sweat?

Lana said Thais are accustomed to eating brown rice. The bleached white rice were meant for export.
So today, I shall eat like a healthy Thai 😀

This meal not only nourished my body, my eyes had a feast too.

Yumilicious, you asked? C’est excellent!

Lana, the talented home chef with Zaza the talented carving artist.

Here’s me, the talented gourmandizer 😉

A bowl of robust and intense flavours perfumed by Thai basil. The duck was tender, not gamey as I feared, and the mouthfeel was a delicate chew. I tasted the sweetness of  the juicy pineapple and a slight hint of palm sugar. The tangy not sour tomatoes did not fight for attention from the citrusy kaffir lime leaves. In fact, they were in perfect harmony. The aubergines is something else! I usually like mine soft and mushy but Lana changed my mind with this dish.

Lana said, “ขอให้เจริญอาหาร” –  You should have a bowl of good food, too 😉

Lana believes in buying and serving her guests fresh foods. Just before I was done with Zaza, Lana had errands to run. Her husband was entertaining that night and Lana did not want to do her shopping way beforehand. Although Lana is a full time homemaker, the roles (no typo here, it’s role ending with a capital S) she play are equally important and demanding. She multitasks efficiently and helps out as often as she can in charitable projects. She did not hesistate when I asked if she was willing to share this lovely curry recipe on my blog. I believe she would have given me her Pad Thai recipe too but I was indolent after a hearty meal 😀

Here’s her booth number 7 Pad Thai!

Lana chose Tang Hoon over Kway Teow as a special treat for me.
Using her own homemade Pad Thai Sauce recipe, cooked with chopped sweet radish and served with banana flowers and scallions, the authentic way to eat Pad Thai. My first go at banana flowers – crunchy yet tender. I can get spoilt and be accustomed to it. But most restaurants do not serve this dish with banana flowers as they are expensive.

Lana Graham – I could never asked for a more gracious host.

Due to Lana’s easy-going nature, I had a very comfortable time working with her on this “project”. Thank you, Ms Lana, for hosting me and the sharing of your delicious recipe!

Duck Red Curry Recipe (serves a lot!)
Ingredients:
3 Fresh meaty Duck Breasts.
1 litre packaged Coconut Cream.
75g Red Curry Paste.
1 tablespoon Fish Sauce.
1 tablespoon Palm Sugar (optional and/or to taste).
1 small bowl of Baby Tomatoes.
1 small bowl of Fresh very ripe and soft Pineapple, cut into small pieces.
1 small bowl of Thai Eggplants, cut into small pieces.
1 big bunch of Kaffir Limes Leaves.
1 big bunch of Thai Basil.
Salt, for sprinkling on duck when pan-frying.

Method – See Photo Galleries Part 1 & Part 2.

Happy mingling 🙂

P.S. Red Curry แกงเผ็ด is a popular Thai dish consisting of curry paste to which coconut milk is added. The ingredients (garlic, shallots, dried chillies, galangal, shrimp paste, salt, kaffir lime peel, coriander root, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns and lemongrass), are pounded in a mortar and pestle and the end result is a wet paste.

*Chope is colloqualism for placing a caveat.