The first time I had absolutely awesome Duck Panang Curry was in Las Vegas at ‘Lemongrass’ restaurant in the Aria. If you are in Vegas, I highly recommend trying it out. I longed for it so much that I decided to go buy myself a nice frozen duck.
If you are on the upper west side in NYC and wondering where you can buy a whole duck, Fischer Bros & Leslie at 230W 72nd St. is your spot. I was so proud of the way this dish turned out. The duck was perfectly cooked and omg the curry blew my mind. Making the curry paste from scratch is the way to go. Throw those ready-made pastes from the supermarkets out in the trash!
Ingredients:
- 1 whole duck
- 2 cups coconut milk
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon Lemongrass
- 1 teaspoon dried lime leaves
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon Jaggery (palm sugar) or brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon Panang curry paste (Check out the recipe here)
- ½ cup fresh basil
- Salt & Pepper
Method:
For the Roast Duck:
Let the duck defrost overnight. Rinse the duck inside out and discard the excess fat from body cavity. Make sure the skin is smooth. I still had a few end of feathers in my duck that I plucked out ☺. Prick skin of the duck with a fork all over. Place the duck in a pan. Now pour boiling hot water over the duck. You will see that the skin starts to stretch out tight. This is what you want. Discard the excess water from the body cavity and pat the duck dry with a napkin. Rub the duck judiciously with Kosher salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Roast duck breast side up for about 45 minutes. Turn the duck over and roast again for another 45 minutes. Turn again and roast for another approximately 45 minutes till the skin is a nice crispy golden brown. Transfer the duck to cutting board and let it stand for 15 minutes before carving.
For the Curry:
Add the curry paste to a pan and fry for about five minutes along with the lemon grass and lime leaves stirring frequently. You want to keep the paste dry without sticking to the pan and burning. Add ¼ cup of the coconut milk at a time and continue to cook. Adding the coconut milk a little at a time allows the curry paste to imbibe into the milk better. You should start to see oil from the paste beginning to separate. Add the Jaggery and fish sauce. Jaggery or palm sugar is used commonly in Asia and provides a better flavor than normal brown sugar.
If you do not have jaggery no worries, brown sugar will do. Add salt to taste. Adjust the thickness of the curry as desired with the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Serve over carved crispy duck topped with basil leaves.
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