FoodTwit

I learned this dish at SITCA, on Koh Samui from Roogha who is an amazing chef (see photos below.) I think it was my favorite dish I learned. It’s not spicy, and the eggs are heavenly… I’d recommend putting in extra, then fishing them out for snacks.

The dish can be prepared ahead of time, and keep for a bit, as you add the noodles and bean sprouts as you serve, keeping it all fresh and perfect.

Ingredients

4 cup fresh duck cut bite-size pieces or chicken

a note on cutting duck; duck (and chicken) bones can shatter, or using kitchen shears is recommended to avoid splinters of bone. 

2 cup white turnip cut bite sized

10-15 black mushroom soak until it soft. Slice them on the bias (see photo

5 panden leaves

1 tbsp. black peppercorn

¼ cup clove anise seeds

5 pieces cinnamon stick (about 2 inch)

2 tbsp. cardamom

1 tbsp. cumin seeds

5 coriander roots

5 cloves garlic crushed

2 cup soy bean oil (for deep frying duck)

6-10 boiled eggs

note: these eggs will be cooked slowly in the broth, and the stock will permeate them. They will become the most delicious thing you have eaten.

25-30 cup chicken stock

1 cup kale cut into bite-size

2 cup bean sprouts (or white cabbage finely sliced)

¼ cup spring onions chopped finely

¼ cup coriander leaves chopped finely

¼ cup celery leaves and steam chopped finely

½ cup palm sugar

¼ cup white cane sugar

2 tbsp. dark soy sauce

¼ cup white soy sauce (to taste)

2 tbsp. seasoning sauce

¼ cup cornstarch

Condiments

3 cup medium fresh rice noodles (if use dry noodle soak in warm water until soft about 30 minutes.)

2 cup kale cut into bite-size

3 cup bean sprouts

1 cup sweet basil

½ cup spring onions chopped finely

½ cup coriander chopped finely

½ cup celery chopped finely

Preparation

1. Boil well the chicken stock 25-30 cups in a large pot. Add the turnip, mushrooms, 5 pandan leaves. Boil about 1 minute.
   
2. Heat a dry wok. Add the coriander root, garlic, peppercorn, anise, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin; stir until it fragrant.
   
3. Wrap the toasted spices well in a square of cheesecloth. (chef attached a stone mortar to weight it down) Put in the stock boil it well.
   
4. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the duck; fry until browned and drain. Put in the boiling chicken stock.
   
5. And add the ½ cup palm sugar, ¼ cup white cane sugar, 2 tbsp. dark soy sauce, ¼ cup light soy sauce, 2 tbsp. seasoning sauce and boil eggs cover. Using low heat boil until the duck is very soft (about 1½ hours).  And add ¼ cup cornstarch boil until the sauce is thickened.
   
6. Boil the water. Add the noodle, bean sprouts, kale or lettuce; boil 15 seconds. Drain and transfer to serving bowl.
   
7. Pour the soup and duck, egg cut in half. Sprinkle with spring onion, coriander, celery, deep fried garlic and oil.
   

Serve very hot with chili vinegar sauce and Thai seasonings such as hot chili flakes, white sugar, and fish sauce.

I botched duck confit. Hard to do? Not when you leave it marinating in salt for three days instead of 24 over Christmas, a decidedly overwhelming holiday.

After roasting them in the fat, then reheating the next day in the saute pan I discovered I’d made duck jerky. A salty, bacao-style jerky suited only for the saltaholic wodtke pallette (and not really that).

But hope springs eternal! I chopped up a couple legs and put it in risotto, where the risotto creaminess offset the duck’s salt and the duck’s chewiness provided a nice texture contrast against the uniformity of the rice. This risotto was so damn good, if I’d live a hundred years ago in spain, it might be a national dish as bacalao is now. I had to eat two bowls, and lay there in a stupor trying to figure out how I could choke down more.

(Continued)