Lets talk about duck breasts for a second... I rarely used to cook with it because I when I watch all the cooking shows on the tv it always seems tricky to get right, and if you didn't get it cooked spot on then the whole dish was ruined.. well I couldn't have been more wrong if I tried. Delightfully easy to cook and it really shook up our normal go to Thai chicken curry. The sweetness of the duck paired so well with the coconut spiced curry, it quite frankly left me thinking.. chicken who?
Don't be scared of trying duck, when cooked well its even better and tastier then a juicy steak. Just remember to get the duck out of the fridge to come to room temperature before you begin to cook, this should take about 20mins, this is not included in the prep or cooking time. Also one point to bear in mind when you place your duck in the oven if you are using an oven tray make sure you warm it in the oven before you place the duck on it.
This recipe will help you to create your own red curry paste but of course if you can't be bothered just use a shop bought paste.. there's no shame in it.
Prep time 15mins
Cooking time 25mins
2 skin on duck breasts
Salt and pepper
1tbsp veg oil
3tbsp red curry paste (ingredients below)
1 tin coconut milk (400ml)
Handful of mange tout
Handful of baby sweetcorn
2 medium red chillis, seeds removed, roughly chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, root end removed like you would a carrot, the rest roughly chopped
Thumbsized piece of ginger, grated
4 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
2 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
1tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp ground turmeric
1tbsp fish sauce
Fresh basil
Fresh coriander
Wedge of lime
Crushed cashew or peanuts
Steamed basmati rice
If you are making your own paste then place all of the paste ingredients in a food processor and whizz until its as smooth as you can get it.. don't worry you'll never be completely smooth because of the lemongrass. Leave to one side until we need it.
Preheat the oven to 200c
Season the duck breast all over with salt and pepper, don't be shy, about 1/3tsp of each per breast. DO NOT use any oil.
Place the duck breasts skin side down in a cold non stick frying pan and turn on heat to med to high. Leave them with out moving for 8 minutes, you can check half way through to make sure the skin isn't burning, if its begun to catch just turn the heat down a little lower. After 8 minutes you should have a perfectly golden crispy skin, now seal the rest of the breast quickly all the way round and pop in the oven for 5minutes, skin side up. Remove after 5mins and leave to rest for 10mins.
While your duck is resting heat the veg oil on a medium heat in a saucepan, add your red curry paste and fry gently for about 4 mins, then add the coconut milk, stir well and allow to warm through.
A few mins after you've added the coconut milk add the mange tout and sweetcorn and cook for 5 mins.
After resting for 10 mins, slice your duck, the cooking should be perfect but if you'd like your duck cooked a little more well done then just flash fry it in the original frying pan, probably for no more then about 1 min.
Serve your curry sauce all over some lovely steamed rice, serve the sliced duck on top so that the skin remains crisp and garnish with the fresh herbs and crushed nuts if using.
