Vịt nấu chao is duck cooked with soybean paste. The duck is marinated in red and white soybean paste, fried, then simmered with taro, lotus root and jelly ear mushrooms until everything is soft. It’s eaten hot with rice, noodles or pasta, and the author loves it on cold days. The part that takes some skill is handling the duck. Plan ahead: the duck marinates for about 1 hour. Ingredients ½ duck 4–5 pieces red soybean paste (sold at Vietnamese markets) 4–5 pieces white soybean paste 2 tablespoons white sugar 1 tablespoon fish sauce 2 tablespoons rice liquor 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1 tablespoon minced onion 2 tablespoons cooking oil 1 fresh coconut milk 500 g taro 3–5 jelly ear mushrooms, soaked in cold water for about 5–7 minutes and sliced small 1 small lotus root, cleaned and sliced small Vegetables, and noodles, pasta or boiled rice to serve How to make vịt nấu chao 1. Prepare and marinate the duck Clean the duck. If you don’t like greasy food, peel off the skin. Chop the duck into small pieces, whatever size you like, and let it drain. Marinate the duck with the soybean paste, fish sauce, rice liquor, ginger and onion for about 1 hour. 2. Fry and simmer the duck Heat the oil in a pan and fry the duck until it’s cooked, about 10 minutes. Put the duck back into the pot and season it with salt, sugar and pepper to suit your taste. Pour in the coconut milk if you’re using it, add enough water to cover the duck, bring to the boil and simmer. 3. Add the taro, lotus root and mushrooms Peel the taro and cut it into slices. When the duck is almost cooked, add the taro, lotus root and jelly ear mushrooms. Add water to cover them and keep cooking until they’re soft. This takes a long time, but taro softens easily, so decide when to stop cooking depending on how you like it. Just before eating, add the vegetables to the pot and cook until they’re done. 4. Serve Scoop it into a big bowl and serve it hot with the vegetables and hot rice, noodles or pasta. Share:
