Rendang Itik, Duck Rendang - "Malaysian Monday 37"

The long weekend is coming to an end and I hope it has been a wonderful break for everyone. I had a relatively quiet one although I did have a few friends over for a simple dinner on Friday night. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable evening with food, drinks and good conversation. Duck rendang was one of the dishes I prepared for the evening and it was a good change from our usual beef rendang. You will see the rest of the dishes in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

serves 6 to 8 as part of a Malaysian meal

you'll need;

7 duck legs, about 1.5 kg

2 cups os coconut milk (preferably Ayam brand)

3 tbs of Malaysian meat curry powder (I used burung nuri brand)*

1.5 tbs of fennel powder*

1.5 tbs of cummin powder*

1.5 tbs of coriander powder*

5 tbs of kerisik (toasted coconut), see stage 2 below

6 kaffir lime leaves, torn

2 turmeric leaves** (optional) sliced

4 tbs of gula melaka (Malaysian palm sugar)

salt to taste
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded to serve
2 tbs of kerisik to serve

Mix ingredients * with a little water to make a paste, set aside

** fresh turmeric leaves can be found in the freezer at most Asian grocers.

for the fresh spice paste;

2 brown onions, chopped

6 clove of garlic, chopped

3 lemongrass (white part only) thinly sliced

3" piece of ginger, chopped

3" piece of galangal, chopped

3" piece of turmeric, chopped

30 dried chillies, boiled and chopped

Blend or pound ingredients into a paste, set aside

Trim off the excess skin and fat, you may render the fat out for other uses.

Prepare the fresh spice paste.

Prepare the kerisik - Place desicated coconut in a pan and dry toast on medium heat til brown but not burnt.

Pan fry duck pieces in batches to render out most of the fat. 

Saute spice paste with peanut oil til oil starts to split then add in the curry powder and continue to cook for 5 minutes on low heat.

Return duck to the pot and fry duck with the the spice mixture for a few minutes. Add coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and season with palm sugar and salt. Cover and simmer on very low heat for 60 - 70 minutes or until duck is tender.

Remove the cover during the last 10 minutes of cooking and reduce the sauce, it should be fairly thick. Add kerisik and mix well.

Garnish with finely shredded kaffir lime leaves and extra kerisik, serve as part of a Malaysian meal.

I am hosting the April event, please send all your entries to sureshchong@yahoo.com. To find out more about the event please click HERE.