Gaeng Phed Ped Yang - Thai Duck Curry

Kaeng Phe Ped Yang is a delicious fusion of Thai - Chinese and also one of the popular curries in Thai restaurants in Thailand and sometimes oversea.  Fruits such as pineapple, grape, lychee and cherry tomatoes are commonly added to it, therefore its is usually spicy, sour and sweet.

What you need for the duck curry

• 4 large duck legs
• pinch five-spice powder
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste (see below)
• 1 x 400ml can creamy coconut milk
• 250ml oz chicken stock
• 1 tbsp palm sugar 
• 2 kaffir limeleaves, torn in pieces
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
• 50 gr small eggplants (optional)
• 200g fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
• handful cherry tomatoes
• bunch spring onions, trimmed, sliced in half on the diagonal
• 1 lime, juice only
• handful fresh Thai basil leaves
• sticky rice, to serve

  What you need for the curry

• 3 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 dried chillies
• 1 tsp salt
• thumb-size piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• vegetable or sunflower oil, to cover the paste for storing

How to prepare it

1. Put the seeds and peppercorns into a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Cook for about three minutes, stirring often, until the mustard seeds start to pop and the seeds turn golden and aromatic. Tip into a bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes.
2. Add the turmeric, cinnamon, paprika and dried chillies to a pestle and mortar. Add the cooled toasted spices and grind everything together into a fine powder. Add the salt.
3. Add grated ginger, garlic, tomato purée and white wine vinegar and mix well to make a paste.
4. Use immediately, or spoon the paste into a jar, cover with a layer of oil, seal with a lid and store in the fridge for up to a week. 
5. For the duck curry, preheat the oven to 220C.
6. Rub the duck legs with the five-spice powder and some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange them, skin-side-up, in a small roasting tin and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 140C and roast for a further hour, or until tender. Transfer to a plate to cool and, when cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bone and cut into bite-sized chunks.
7. Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the curry paste and fry for about one minute, stirring, until fragrant. Pour in the coconut milk, half of the chicken stock and all of the palm sugar and fish sauce and bring to the boil. Add the sugar snap peas, pineapple and tomatoes and boil for a further 2-3 minutes.
8. Stir in the reserved duck meat and the spring onions and cook for a further three minutes, adding more stock if the curry becomes too thick. Just before serving add the lime juice, to taste and stir through the Thai basil and coriander. Serve with sticky rice.

This recipe is based on several internetrecipes