Unlike in the US, duck dishes are very common in Vietnam, partly I think it’s because duck is a lot cheaper than chicken or even pork. Duck soup with bamboo shoot (bun vit nau mang) is popular in Vietnam in many ways: it can be a quick lunch or dinner or a side dish at a countryside feast. The recipe introduced below is Northern style, which uses fresh bamboo shoots instead of dried one, and ingredients are pretty simple.
Ingredients for 4 serving:
2 lb (800 grams) duck thigh and breast (or just thigh is fine)
1lb (400 grams) pickled bamboo shoot
1 lb (400 grams) rice vermicelli, fresh or dried
1 cup ginger, peeled and minced
1.5 shallot
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon fish sauce
1/4 cup + 1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Red Fresno chili pepper
Cilantro, green onion, Thai basil and culantro (optional) to garnish and taste
Water
Direction
Wash the duck thoroughly under cool water. In a bowl, combine 1/2 ginger in 1/4 cup warm water to make ginger juice, then rub this ginger juice on the duck with 1/4 cup salt to discard ducky smell. Rub the duck all the way through for about 5 minutes then rinse under cold water.
Pat dry the duck then chop into bite-size pieces.
Peel and mince 1/2 shallot then marinate the duck with this shallot and 1/2 tablespoon salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Peel the remaining shallot and slice along finely.
Heat a big pot or Dutch oven, add in vegetable oil and saute the sliced shallot until it turns light yellow and smells nice. Add in the duck then saute until the duck gets twisted.
Add into the pot 3.5 quart water (about 3.5 liters). Turn the oven to high heat and bring the pot to a very rolling boil. Reduce the heat to medium, let the meat cook for about 10 minutes. Skim any scum and fat on the surface.
Wash and slice bamboo shoot
Meanwhile, rinse bamboo shoot then chop along into fine strips. If you use big bamboo shoots, cut them into halves in the sink to discard water inside the bamboo stem before chopping on the work surface. Once you’re done, transfer the chopped bamboo back in the sink, fill it with cold water and wash the bamboo thoroughly. Repeat this step again to make sure the bamboo is well washed. Let the bamboo strain on a colander.
Add bamboo into the duck pot. Bring it to a rolling boil again for 5 minutes then reduce the heat to low and cook with lid cover for from 45-60 minutes.
While waiting for the duck and bamboo to be cooked, let’s prepare the garnishing herbs, the vermicelli and dipping sauce.
Wash green onion and the herbs. Remove white root ends and dark green leaves of green onion, wilted parts of the herbs then finely chop all of them together and set aside.
Wash Fresno pepper, core and finely chop.
Get ready for the sauce
Boil the vermicelli according to package instruction if using dried one.
Making the sauce: In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon vinegar and about 1/2 cup cool water until the sugar is totally melt. Add in 1/4 cup fish sauce and combine. Add in remaining ginger, chili and combine. Transfer to 4 individual dipping bowls to serve.
Now the duck soup is ready. Season in 2 tablespoon fish sauce and a little bit additional sugar if you want (not a lot, just about 1 teaspoon maximum to substitute MSG). Stir to mix the seasoning in the pot.
Serving: Divide vermicelli into 4 individual soup bowls, bamboo shoot and duck on top. Pour the broth over and garnish in with the prepared herbs. Serve with prepared dipping sauce.
How to enjoy: Dip the duck with the sauce and enjoy it like Vietnamese people do, or you can tear it all at once and put it in the noodle bowl the way White guys eating crab. Mix a little bit dipping sauce into noodle bowl if you prefer thicker flavor.
……………………………..
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Preparation time: About 1 hours and 15 minutes in total
Actual busy time: About 25 minutes.
Vietnamesemamacooks.com 