Thai Duck Red Curry

Please note this recipe was created in collaboration with Gressingham Duck who gifted the duck breasts

Thai Duck Red Curry – crispy skinned duck breasts with spicy red thai curry sauce and steamed jasmine rice. I love Thai food and when Gressingham Duck sent me some duck breasts I knew they would go well in this recipe. If you like Thai Red Curry then you could also try my recipe out for Prawn Red Thai Curry. 

Recipe

Serves 2

Difficulty Level:  Home Cook

Ingredients:

For the Thai Red Curry paste:

• 5-7 small dried red chillies (remove the seeds unless you like it really hot), soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes.
• Teaspoon salt 
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled 
• 20g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 lemongrass stalks, sliced
• 1 lime, zest grated
• 2 teaspoons coriander stalks
• Teaspoon white pepper 
• 1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds, toasted and finely ground
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and finely ground
• 1 teaspoon shrimp paste

For the curry:

• 2 duck breasts 
• 2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste (recipe above)
• 400ml tin coconut milk
• Tablespoon tomato puree
• heaped teaspoon palm sugar
• tablespoon of fish sauce
• About 5 kaffir lime leaves, sliced 
• Juice of one lime
• 50g baby sweetcorn, halved
• 75g mangetout
• Salt and black pepper

To serve:

• Steamed jasmine rice
• Spring onions and red chillies, finely sliced 

Method:

1. Start by making the Thai Red Curry paste. If using a food processor, add all ingredients and whizz to a paste. If using a pestle and mortar, add the chillies, salt and garlic and bash to a paste. Add the remaining ingredients one at a time, bashing between each addition to a paste. 
2. To cook the duck breasts, season well with salt and black pepper. Score the skin carefully into a criss-cross pattern using a very sharp knife, being careful not to cut the flesh. Place the duck breasts, skin side down, into a cold frying pan. Put the pan over a low heat and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Drain out the fat as it renders (can be used to make roast potatoes) You should be left with really crispy skin.
3. Whilst the duck breasts are cooking, heat a larger frying pan over a medium heat. Add the Thai Red Curry paste and a little sunflower oil. Fry for a couple of minutes.
4. Gradually add half the tin of coconut milk and add the tomato puree. Bubble until thick and the fat separates from the coconut milk (about 3-5 minutes)
5. Add the remaining coconut milk, the palm sugar, fish sauce and lime leaves. Taste and adjust to your liking.
6. Once the duck breasts are crispy, place them flesh side down in the curry pan along with the mangetout and baby sweetcorn. Allow to simmer for 3-6 minutes depending on the size of the duck breasts. Remove the duck breasts from the pan, allow to rest for a couple of minutes and then, using a sharp knife, slice for serving.
7. Finish the curry by squeezing in the juice of the lime, stirring to combine. Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking – add fish sauce for saltiness, palm sugar for sweetness. 
8. Serve the curry in bowls topped with the crispy duck and steamed jasmine rice on the side.