Vịt Nướng Chao (Grilled Duck in Fermented Bean Curd)

It's good to be able to cook again in my own kitchen after a week of eating in Vegas, Anaheim, Solvang, and Santa Barbara. No matter how fine the food is, at the end of the day, I always crave for  a homemade meal.  For me, there is no food like homemade food!

I am very lucky that my local Costco carries quite a lot of Asian products. Most of my grocery shopping is done there. Last month, I dropped a note in the comment box at Costco and requested to bring in Three Crabs fish sauce. I will be a happy camper to see this brand of fish sauce on the shelves at Costco. 

Whenever I feel like cooking duck, you'd know where I go. I love Costco's whole duck. It's fresh and contains less fat. One of my favorite duck recipes is grilled duck marinated in fermented bean curd which is the delicacy preserved tofu immersed in brine and sesame oil.  This fermented bean curd adds a bold flavor you love to the earthy, slightly gamy flavors of the duck meat.  

Fermented bean curd is sold in jars containing small square cubes. There are three typical types of fermented bean curd: hot chili bean curd, white fermented bean curd and red fermented bean curd which incorporates red wine yeast with the brining liquor for a deep-red color and distinctively thickened flavor and aroma. 

Fermented bean curd is an acquired taste because of its complex, powerful scent, strong flavor, and smooth pasty texture.  This grilled duck in fermented bean curd is surprisingly delicious. Another way of cooking the duck is baking it in the oven.  The meat is juicy, tender, and flavorful.  If you're afraid of the gamy smell of duck, don't worry...you won't even notice it's duck.  

I like to serve the duck with sticky rice cooked in fresh spinach juice or carrot juice, and a side dish of baked assorted vegetables. In the hot summer day, I also like to serve this dish with the combination of fresh cubed mango, kernel, cilantro, jicama, lime juice, salt and fresh ground pepper.  

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RECIPE:  Vịt Nướng Chao

Printable Recipe

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Ingredients

1 fresh whole Duck, about 6 pounds 

10 cubes Red Fermented Bean Curd

10 cubes White Fermented Bean Curd

1 tablespoon White Fermented Bean Curd Sauce

1 tablespoon Red Fermented Bean Curd Sauce

4 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons pounded Ginger

2 tablespoons finely chopped Lemongrass

2 tablespoons Sesame Oil

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Directions

Preparing Duck

Rinse the duck and the inside of the duck’s body cavity with cold water. Massage the duck with salt and rinse again.  If you don't like the gamy smell of duck, mix smashed ginger and white wine then rub all over the duck. Rinse again.  Pat the duck dry inside and out with paper towels to prevent it from slipping when chopping. Place the duck breast-side down on a cutting board. Remove the duck’s wings by twisting them in the sockets to disjoin them then cut the skin and finish removing the wings from the duck with a knife or a kitchen scissors. 

Use the scissors to cut alongside the backbone from the tail end to the neck. Repeat this cut on the other side of the duck’s spine, then remove the spine from the body. 

Turn the duck over so that the breasts are facing up. Spread the legs out on either side of the body.

Use a knife to cut along the intersection of each thigh and the body. Remove the legs from the body.

Locate the bone between the breasts, called the keel bone. Cut from the neck along the keel bone, following the curve of the breast. Use the tip of the knife to cut down the breast in short increments and slowly separate the breast meat from the ribs.

Now, you will have two duck breasts along with the legs. Cut each duck breast into 3 pieces. Cut off any excess fat and save it for later used. 

The organs, neck, spine, ribs, and wings can be used to make a stock for duck porridge or soup.

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Marinating the Duck

Preparing ginger - peel and roughly chop the ginger and pound the pieces in a mortar and pestle until you have a paste.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine ginger, lemongrass, white and red fermented bean curd and sauce, sesame oil, and sugar.  Smash the bean curd by pressing with the back of the spoon then mix well. You can also process these ingredients in the food processor if preferred.  

Coat the duck pieces with the marinate sauce and marinate for at least an hour or overnight.

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Cooking Duck

Grill and rotate the duck over charcoal or gas grill on medium heat until cooked. Duck breast is usually served medium rare. The texture is so much better when it retains some of its color.  It gets tough and unappealing when cooked more but be done to your liking. The duck legs and thighs can tolerate more cooking and are often served more well done.

Another way to cook the duck is by baking it. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F. Bring a pan on a medium-high heat. Add a little bit of duck fat in a pan. Place the duck in the pan with skin side down and fry until it's golden brown. Flip, and transfer duck to a broiler pan rack. Be sure to cover the bottom pan with foil then place the pan rack on top to catch the drips. When the oven heat reaches 400 degrees, place the duck in the oven and cook for about 8 minutes. 

I forgot to sear the duck skin before cooking in the oven

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Roasting Vegetables

If you plan to serve duck with vegetables, try the roasted vegetables. It's one of my favorite way to eat and make vegetables. It's simple and brings out the natural sweetness and subtle flavors infused in the heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil.

In another baking pan, toss vegetables such as brussel sprouts, asparagus, king oyster mushroom, eggplant or the combination of cubed butternut squash, red bell peppers, sweet potato, Yukon Gold potato, and red onion with a generous amount of extra vigrin olive oil, and some kosher salt. Place the vegetable tray in the oven the same time with the duck. 

Stirring every 10 minutes. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked throughly and browned.

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Cooking Spinach Sticky Rice

I love to incorporate fresh vegetable juice such as carrot juice, spinach juice, pandan juice, beet juice, etc...into my rice for two reasons: one,  for whatever antioxidants I can get and two, for the visual appeal.

Ingredients: 2 cups sweet rice, 2 cups spinach, 1 1/2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions: in a blender, puree spinach and water until smooth. Use a strainer to strain the juice and make 1 3/4 cups.  Add water if it's not enough. Set aside.

Rinse sweet rice a few times until the water is clear. Drain the water completely. Transfer sweet rice and spinach juice to a rice cooker and cook until it switches to warm mode. Stir the rice up and let it sit at the warm mode until the rice is cooked thoroughly.

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Presentation

Serve duck with spinach sticky rice with a side of roasted vegetables along with a glass of Pinot Noir.

This duck dish also pairs well with a side dish of fresh cubed mango, corn, cilantro, jicama tossed with lime juice, and a dash of fresh ground pepper, and kosher salt.

Bon Appetite! 

Ân-Hy's Sixth Birthday!

My little girl Ân-Hy just turned seven. I so wish time would slow down! Yesterday morning, before the girls took off to school, her big sister and daddy got up at 5:30 am to bake a birthday cake and make breakfast for her while I was cuddling her in bed. Her soft baby skin all snuggled up against mine as I studied her innocent face and watched her snoozing comfortably, quietly.

The night before her birthday, I stayed up late to bake 50 cupcakes for her to bring to school and gymnastics to share with her friends. A few minutes before the clock struck midnight, I wrapped a present for her, placed a giant birthday poster card that her sister made on the dining table.  I hung the streamers around the kitchen nook and then waited to see her surprised happy face and beautiful smile in the morning.

Every birthday for my girls, I tried to be creative and look for ideas to make it memorable, joyful. At least once a year I get to tap into this creative process.

For the last five years of her life, I planned her birthday party without much of her in puts. Since she turned six, she has been coming up with her own birthday party themes.  This year, she decided to have a slime birthday party and she only wanted to invite a few good friends.  What on earth is a slime party?  

Last year, she requested a spa birthday party. That was a hard theme for me to pull off as I rarely pamper myself with a manicure, pedicure, or even a spa. It took lots of research, and time but in the end, with the help of some friends, I was able to deliver a fabulous sixth birthday party.  

It started with the invitation. It took a number of photos before I got a decent one.

Then came the sweet treat table.  My girls and I had a wonderful time making these adorable nail polish bottles out of marshmallows, tootsie rolls and melted candies.  My sister-in-law made a lovely cake adorned in girly accessories and spa themed cake pops arranged in a beautiful bouquet.

One of my challenges was how to create a relaxing and soothing spa atmosphere. After many days of brainstorming I finally pulled out a daybed couch that I had forgotten in the den into the piano room and decorated the bed with some cute pillows. Next to the bed was a table filled with a vase of brilliant flowers and homemade facial masks made out of avocado, blueberries, honey, and plain yogurt. The soothing music was playing as the moms pampered the girls. It was such a sweet moment.

A Dollar store is always my first destination when looking for things. Guess where I found these spa head wraps?

Miss Ân-Hy didn't simply asked for a spa party but also a manicure and pedicure. The pedicure bowls underneath the bench were also from A Dollar store. In these bowls were warm water, foot soak bath salts, bath bombs, and fresh camellias flower petals that my girls picked from our backyard. It feels so soothing just trying to describe it. Aah...

My girls and I made these simple tissue pom-poms to a impart a cheerful radiance to the pedicure/manicure room.

That was so much fun for the girls as you can hear it in their giggles, but the party was yet to be over and it was time to put on pretty dresses and have a nice and relaxing lunch on the deck. What I served were varieties of fruit punch in the personalized mason jars that they kept as parting gifts.

Aren't these turkey sandwich adorable? They sure look simple but after I got myself into this, I realized how time consuming it was to cut each piece of the sandwich, sliced turkey and cheese into the flower shapes. Then, a central hole was carved out to insert a cherry tomato. Without my husband's help, I sure couldn't get these sandwiches ready by noon for the party. While putting the sandwiches together, I thought the sandwiches somehow looked incomplete. Perhaps a cute food pick would work. I was lucky enough to find a pack of these gorgeous food picks that a good Japanese friend of mine sent to my girls all the way from Japan a few months prior.

These savory mini corn dog muffins are absolutely delicious when they're fresh and warm. I made this batch at 6:30 am on the day of the party when I wasn't even fully awake. At least I was alert enough to snap a picture of the final product.

What can be better than licking on a chocolate kiwi popsicle after a spa, manicure and pedicure.   I always find myself extremely busy putting the little details into a party.  Without my girls and my husband's help, I wouldn't be able to get everything done on time.   These delicious chocolate kiwi popsicles were prepared a day ahead with their help.

I love those elegant looking grape skewers.  Thanks to my girls for threading the grapes. They were focus!   You can see how labor intensive this was.

Since I put all the moms to work as estheticians, masseuses, and nail artists as soon as they arrived to the party; they worked really hard to to ensure that the girls enjoyed their party. I prepared a table of hot food and a couple bottle of sweet wines to thank all the moms.  

A party like this couldn't happen without a labor of love! 

Happy 7th birthday my darling!