Preparation

20 minutes
Cooking

1 hour 30 minutes
Difficulty

Easy

Duck meat is a very familiar ingredient in family meals. Especially braised dishes with duck meat are incredibly delicious and appealing. Let’s join TasteVN in the kitchen to learn how to make simple and delicious braised duck right away!

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Ingredients for Braised Duck Serves 5

Duck meat 1.8 kg Duck eggs 5 pieces Garlic 5 cloves Ginger 1 piece Chili 2 pieces Coconut water 500 ml Lemon juice 1 teaspoon Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Salt 2.5 tablespoons Sugar 3 tablespoons MSG 1/2 tablespoon

How to choose fresh and delicious duck meat

For live ducks

Choose ducks with shiny feathers, the inner skin shows no down feathers, and the outer feathers are long and full. Do not choose ducks with rough feathers, foul smell, or lethargic appearance, as they may be sick.
Press on the duck’s breast and feel it is round and plump, with thick skin on the neck and belly, indicating good quality.
If the two wings can cross each other, it indicates a mature duck, which is easy to pluck and has more meat.

For processed ducks

Choose ducks with a uniform light yellow color, feeling fresh. Do not choose ducks that are too dark or have bruises and blotches.
Press on the duck and feel it is firm with elasticity, indicating good quality. Do not choose those that feel soft and mushy, have a foul smell, or are leaking fluids, as they are stale and not good.

See details: How to choose and process duck meat

Ingredients for braised duck dish

Required tools

Pot, knife, bowl, plate, banana leaves,…

How to cook Braised Duck

1
Prepare the duck

When buying the duck, wash it thoroughly inside and out with water, and cut it into bite-sized pieces about 2 finger lengths.

Then, place a pot on the stove over medium heat, add 1 liter of water and bring to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt, smashed ginger, and the duck into the pot, blanch for 3 – 5 minutes and wash it clean, then drain.
How to reduce the duck’s odor:
- Method 1: Use salt, white wine, and smashed ginger to rub evenly over the duck for a few minutes, then rinse well with water.
- Method 2: Use salt to rub evenly over the duck, then take a lemon cut in half and rub it evenly over the duck once more and rinse clean with water.
2

Marinate duck meat

Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and chop it finely. Peel the garlic, then pound the garlic and bell pepper together.

Add the duck meat to a bowl, marinate with the pounded garlic and bell pepper, 1.5 tablespoons of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.

Mix well and marinate the duck meat for about 1 hour to allow the meat to absorb the spices.

Tip: Marinating with lemon juice helps the duck stew become clear and tastes better and richer when eaten.
3
Boil duck eggs

Wash the duck eggs, place them in a pot, and boil for 5 – 7 minutes over medium heat. Then let them cool and peel off the shells.
Quick way to peel boiled duck eggs:
- Place the eggs in a pot, cover with water, and add a little vinegar to make peeling easier.
- After boiling the eggs for about 7 minutes, take them out and place them in a bowl of cold water, then proceed to peel the eggs; this method will cool the eggs quickly and make the shell easier to come off, facilitating the peeling process.
4

Making caramel

Place a pot on the stove over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of water, use chopsticks to stir until the sugar water turns a dark brown color, then add 2 tablespoons of water and turn off the heat.
5

Braised duck meat

Place a pot on the stove over medium heat, add 1.5 liters of water, 500ml of coconut milk, caramel, add the marinated meat into the pot, bring to a boil and skim off the foam.

Reduce the heat, use a toothpick to poke the duck eggs and then add them to the pot, cover the pot with a banana leaf and braise for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, adjust the seasoning to taste, continue to cook for another 20 minutes, then remove the banana leaf and turn off the heat.

Tip: Use a toothpick to poke the duck eggs to help them absorb the seasoning better.
6

Final Product

The extremely delicious braised duck dish is complete and can be served hot. The dish is tender, flavorful, and the fatty duck meat combined with the rich duck egg makes it very appetizing!