Tag Archives: orange

Thơm Orange om vịt với đu đủ Salad – Fragrant Orange Braised Duck with Papaya Salad

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WP_20140705_16_46_29_ProNo apologies for taking you back to Vietnam this post, the fresh vibrant and light punchy flavours seem to work during the hot and steamy weather we are experiencing at the moment. If you have been following, and trying the far eastern posts you should have most of the ingredients for this recipe to hand.

On the cookery course I attended in France recently we made Crepe Suzette, which was delicious, we also had, and did lots with Duck. I remember Duck a l’orange   in the 70’s and thought that there must be a way to combine the memories into something a bit more vibrant. In Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey there is a recipe similar to this, but this is my interpretation of Vietnamese flavours with some decent heat, its just great!

You will need the following ingredients to make this sing for 2 people!

Dressing

  1. 5 Tbls Fish Sauce
  2. 1 Tbls Rice Wine Vinegar
  3. 2 Limes (Juiced)
  4. 2 Tbls Water
  5. 2 Tbls Palm Sugar
  6. 1 – 2 Red Chilli (finely sliced)
  7. 1 Clove Garlic (finely minced)
  8. 4 – 5 Drops Sesame Oil

Braised Duck

  1. 4 Duck Legs
  2. 1 Litre Orange Juice
  3. 3 Cloves garlic
  4. 4 Red Thai Chilli’s (whole)
  5. 1 Red Thai Chilli’s (finely sliced)
  6. 2 Shallots (finely sliced)
  7. 1 Lemongrass Stalk (roughly chopped)
  8. 4 Star Anise
  9. 4cm Length Cinnamon
  10. 1 Tbsp Tamarind
  11. 1 Tsp Shrimp paste
  12. 1 1/2 Inches Galangal (sliced)
  13. 10 Black Peppercorns
  14. 4 Spring Onions (roughly sliced)
  15. Maldon Sea Salt for seasoning

Papaya Salad

  1. 1 Papaya (sknned and cut into 1 c.m. cubed)
  2. 2 Spring Onions, Sliced
  3. 1 Red pepper (Julienned)
  4. 1 Handful Green Beans (blanched and cut into 1 inch lengths)
  5. 1 Handful Bean Sprouts
  6. 1 Handful Cashew Nuts (Freshly Toasted & Salted)
  7. 5 – 10 Mint Leaves (Chiffonade)
  8. 5 – 10 Holy Basil Leaves (Chiffonade)
  9. Bunch Coriander, chopped

WP_20140705_17_11_54_ProFirst thing to do is render some of the fat of the Duck Legs, take a Dutch Oven and place on a COLD hob, season the Duck and place in the pan, turning the heat to medium. This stage takes about 15 – 20 minutes depending on their size. Once you have done one side, repeat and you should have a reasonable amount of fat in the pan. Put the legs to one side and drain most of the fat off to use for roasties or whatever takes your fancy! Watch the Duck as mine had a tendency to stick to the pan. Stick your oven on about 150 degrees (fan) 160 deg (convection).

WP_20140705_17_18_30_ProNext, take all the spices for the braising liquor and fry in the remaining Duck fat until they release their aroma, then add the Orange Juice and shrimp paste and then the Duck Legs, making sure they are covered in the liquor. The whole lot goes covered, in the oven for about 1.5 – 2.0 hours.

WP_20140705_17_22_40_ProAs with many of the recent posts, a lot of the tasks in hand are more assembly than cooking, in this case, whilst the Duck is slowly braising you can prepare some of the other ingredients.

WP_20140705_19_16_04_ProFor the salad there are a few things to do, roast the Cashews in a frying pan, and lightly season with Maldon Sea Salt whilst they are still hot. Blanch the Green Beans in boiling water for 3 -4 minutes (removing the squeaky nature!), and refresh in cold water. Make the dressing, I usually start with the Fish Sauce and Water, add the Palm Sugar and stick in the microwave oven on full for 30 seconds or so. This helps the Palm Sugar dissolve. Grate in the Garlic and add the Lime Juice, and chopped Thai Chilli. The Sesame Oil is very strong so only use a few drops and then taste, it should be a background flavor.

WP_20140705_19_33_22_ProWe are nearly done. next stage is to remove the Duck Legs carefully from the pan, and reduce the remaining sauce until ‘gloopy’ and thick enough to stick to, and coat the back of a spoon. Its worth passing the sauce through a sieve first, but retain the pieces of Spring Onion as they can go onto the dish with the sauce. The Salad can be prepared whilst the sauce is reducing, but don’t add the dressing until the last minute. When the sauce has thickened pour boiling water over the noodles as per the instructions (mine needed 3 minutes) to cook.

WP_20140705_20_12_01_ProDrain your Noodles and place them on the plate, lay the Duck legs on top and add the sauce with cooked Spring Onion, its deep, rich and comforting (with some heat!). The Salad adds a cold, but HOT element from a spicing perspective, the Cashews add crunch and there is some bitter as well so back to the old Yin Yang so beloved of Vietnam.

WP_20140705_20_14_43_ProThis is a cracking dish, the Duck is meltingly soft, the Orange sauce, Tangy, Spicy and inviting, the contrast with the Salad which is even hotter, but with Sweet elements from the Papaya with Salt and crunch from the Cashew Nuts.

I may drift around the world next time and see what I can find that’s new and different to cook.

Till next time……………………….L8ers…………….

 

 

 

 

The Christmas Challenge Part Deux – KugelHopf My Way

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The last couple of weeks have been challenging, lots of travelling and fighting a virus which is not very pleasant, and particularly hideous when its your birthday. I had planned another baking session but did not feel up to it, so postponed the event for a week hoping the virus would have started to clear. I had already starting preparing by putting Raisins and Kirsch In a bowl and covered with cling film, which would macerate for 1 week in the fridge to seriously plump up! So back to the Christmas challenge and another recipe, this time modelled on the ‘Alsacian Kugelhopf‘, an enriched cake made with yeast and butter, and in my case a number of spices and fruits.  I have recently acquired a ‘Bundt’ baking tin, a round tin with a hole in the centre and fluted edges, and intended to put it to good use with this recipe. You can see it in the picture below, with most of the ingredients.

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The process to make this recipe is quite long, you will ideally need to prove the dough mixture 3 times so allow plenty of time, the 1st proving stage can take 2 – 3 hours, with the 2nd and 3rd another 1 1/2 – 2 hours each. For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

  • 3 Cups Plain Flour
  • 120 Grams Butter
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 1/4 Cup Warm Water
  • 1/2 Cup Warm Full Fat Milk
  • I Sachet Dried Fast Acting Yeast (7 Grams)
  • 1/2 Cup Castor Sugar (preferably Vanilla infused)
  • 1/2 Tsp Vanilla EXTRACT
  • 3/4 Cup Raisins (Preferable Soaked for a week in 1/4 Cup of Kirsch)
  • 1 Teaspoon Maldon Sea Salt
  • Zest of 1 Lemon
  • Zest of 1 Lime
  • Zest of 1 Orange
  • 75 Grams mixed Peel (Orange & Lemon)
  • 2 Cloves ground in pestle & mortar
  • 1/2  heaped Tsp Ginger
  • 1/2 heaped Tsp Ground Allspice
  • 1/4 Grated Fresh Nutmeg
  • 30 Grams chopped Hazelnuts
  • 30 Grams flaked Almonds

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Firstly, put the Milk and Water into a jug, add the Yeast and stir. Leave in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until a froth starts to develop on the surface.

Put the Butter, Orange, Lemon, Lime Zest, and Sugar in the bowl of a Kenwood Chef with the Dough Hook attached and mix on a medium speed until pale in colour. It takes between 5 & 10 minutes depending on how cold the butter is.

Now add the Eggs, Vanilla and Yeast mixture and mix thoroughly, then add about half the flour, with the Kenwood set to medium speed. Don’t forget to add the ground Cloves, Ginger, Ground Nutmeg and Ground Allspice at this stage.

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It should resemble something like above at this stage, once combined, wipe the side of the bowl down with a spatula and add the rest of the flour, and thoroughly mix for a good 10 minutes, you should end up with a soft sticky dough like the picture below.

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Now the mixture needs to be left in a warm place covered, until doubled in size, this takes 2 – 3 hours. I put mine by the fire to help the process along.

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After the 1st rise, your should end up with silky smooth mixture that looks like the picture above. You can just see flecks of zest dotted about. The next stage is to ‘knock back’ the mixture to get rid of some of the air, I used a spatula to assist with the process. The mixture will deflate and look like the next picture.

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Now repeat the process, covering the mixture with a tea towel and again, the rise should double in size just like before.

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Whilst the rising is happening, heavily butter the Bundt Pan, and sprinkle with the flaked Almonds, once the 2nd rise has completed, you need to knock back the mixture and add the Hazelnuts and Fruits making sure they are evenly distributed.

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The Mixture needs covering again, and left in a warm place to rise for the 3rd time.  It should look like the picture above.

When  its done, it should be close to the surface of the tin. You need to bake the Kugelhopf for approximately 35 Minutes at 160 deg (Fan Oven), or 180 deg (Convection Oven). After 15 Minutes cover the top with some tin foil to prevent it from browning too quickly, a side effect of the quantity of butter in the mixture.

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When its cooked, leave to rest for 5 – 10 minutes, it should ease away from the sides of the tin, then release from the mould and allow to cool on a wire rack. You can see the effect of putting the flaked Almonds on the tin before adding the mixture in the picture above.

You can decorate the Kugelhopf with plain icing sugar, or make a icing drizzle by adding Icing Sugar to Orange or Lemon Juice, depending on your preferences.

You can find out what it tastes like by having a go at making one yourself, Now I have tested the recipe I will be making another one for my colleagues at work later this week, I hope they enjoy it As I much as I enjoyed creating my own version of this spectacular cake.