Duck Breast
- 4 duck breasts
- 2 tbsp Thai 7-Spice seasoning
Duck Breast with Red Curry-Infused Fragrant Jasmine Rice
Ingredients
Crispy Shallots
- 100ml oil
- 5 banana shallots, peeled and chopped into fine rounds
Red Curry Paste
- 10 dried Thai red chillies, or 5 fresh bird's eye red chillies
- 5 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 lemongrass sticks, roughly chopped
- 1 knob of ginger, thumb-sized, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 bunch of coriander, small, leaves and stalks separated
- 1 slice of kaffir lime peel, or 2 slices of regular lime
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Freshly ground black pepper
Rice
- 250g Tilda Fragrant Jasmine rice
- 5 spring onions, white parts chopped into small rounds, green parts shredded
- 400ml coconut milk
- 100ml water
- 1 larger mango, peeled and diced
Method
To begin, lightly dust the duck breasts with the Thai 7-Spice and leave to marinate for an hour in the fridge.
Meanwhile, make the curry paste by placing all the ingredients (apart from the coriander leaves) in a blender. Blitz to a rough and ready paste. Place in a bowl or jar and cover.
For the crispy shallots, pour the oil into a saucepan and place over a high heat. When the hot is oil (not smoking though) throw in the shallot rounds. They will bubble up immediately and the key here is to keep a close eye on proceedings.
As they bubble, the water will evaporate and the bubbling will slowly begin to die down after about 8 minutes or so, when the shallots will begin to become golden and crisp. Don’t let them go too far, or they will burn.
Scoop out with a slotted spoon and allow to drain and cool on kitchen paper. These can now be stored in an airtight container.
Remove the duck breasts from the fridge and allow to come up to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a cold frying pan then place over a medium to high heat. This method helps to slowly render the fat out of the duck, crisping up the skin beautifully.
After 5 minutes, flip the breasts and place in the oven to finish cooking – 10–12 minutes is good for medium, 15 minutes for well done. Once the duck breasts are ready, leave to rest in a warm spot for another 10 minutes.
While the duck is cooking, prepare the rice by heating a wide saucepan or wok on the hob over a high heat. Add a generous splash of oil and then 4 tablespoons of the red curry paste. Stir briskly for a good couple of minutes, to cook the paste out
Add the rice and stir to toast for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and 100ml of water and cover with a lid. Cook until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, then stir through the white parts of the spring onions.
Remove from the heat and stir through the diced mango.
To serve, slice the rested duck breasts evenly. Divide the rice between plates, place the duck breasts on top and garnish with the crispy shallots. Chop some of the reserved coriander leaves, sprinkle over and serve.
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