Cháo Vịt - Vietnamese Duck Congee
Duck Congee (Chao Vit) is rich and delicious with soft shredded meat and a smooth texture. It can be prepared on the stove or in pressure cooker. Steps for pressure cooker methods are included found in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 duck legs
- 3 cloves of garlic, removed
- 6 cups of water
- A thumb-sized piece of ginger, cut and peeled
- 3 stalks of scallions, separate the green and white parts
- 1/2 cup white rice plus 2 tablespoons washed and drain
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Two tablespoons of brown rice washed and drain (or only white rice)
- cilantro, thinly cut
- Vietnamese fish sauce
- Vietnamese coriander that is thinly slice (or Thai basil, tarragon)
- Julienned ginger (to serve)
- black pepper
Instructions
- Bring enough water to the point of boiling in a pan and then add the legs of the duck and cook for two minutes. Take the duck out and dispose of the liquid.
- In a pot that is clean, put in 6 cups of water ginger slices, garlic cloves whites, scallion whites, salt. As soon as the water is beginning to boil, add duck legs. Allow the water to simmer for another minute and then add all the rice.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat to a moderate simmer. Clean foam off, then cover the pot by putting the lid snipped. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Make sure to check the congee every 10 to 15 minutes or so, and give it a stir, or scrape off foam if required. After 30 to 35 minutes, remove the legs of the duck from the pot. Separate the bones from the meat. Shred the meat , then put bones back in the pot. Let them simmer for another 30 minutes.
- In the next 30 minutes take any bones that remain in the congee after 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning using additional salt, or even fish sauce. Also , check the consistency and adjust it according to your preference by adding a little fluid to even it out , or simmer it for a while to increase the thickness.
- Add the shredded duck to the congee, and stir until it is evenly distributed throughout the congee. Transfer the congee to serving bowls and decorate with thinly cut scallions, the herb cilantro Vietnamese coriander and julienned ginger , and black pepper.
Notes
If you are planning to cook congee in the pressure cooker, here are the steps to follow:
- Cook the legs of the duck like you did in Step 1. You may trim off a bit of the skin to decrease the fat content in the congee .
- The pressure cooker should be turned on using the Saute mode. When it is ready and ready, add a tiny bit of oil. Then add garlic, ginger and whites of scallion. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds or until the mixture is fragrant.
- Mix in rice, until it is cooked for about 30 second to 1 minute. Add about 4 cups water as well as duck legs and salt. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Let the pressure naturally dissipate over 15 minutes.