Malay Duck & Mango Curry

A Malay curry and a Duck Malay Curry at that! Duck is one of the boy’s favourites, and so is curry, so what could possibly go wrong? Another brilliant creation from Yotam Ottolenghi.

4 duck breasts, scored lightly on the skin side

120ml oil

Salt

50g palm sugar

180ml coconut milk

280g green beans, blanched

2 mangoes

1tbsp lime juice

Spice Paste

½ tsp chilli flakes

2 ½ tsp sambal oelek

3 red chillies

30g ginger, sliced

1tsp turmeric

12 small shallots, sliced thinly

10 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

Make the paste first – just grind it all up in a mini processor. I like the sound of the word sambal oelek very much. It might need a little oil to get to form a paste, so judge how much it needs.

Add 150g of the spice paste to a bowl and add the duck. Marinade for a couple of hours. The boy has nosed his way into the kitchen and spotted the duck.. He wants something to do so he is peeling the mangoes and cutting them into large dice. One of ours is very ripe and the other is still a bit firm. I think the contrast will work nicely.

Heat a heavy pan. Scrape excess paste from the duck skin and add it back to the reserved paste. Fry the duck for a few minutes each side - don’t worry if the spice coating catches.  Once seared take them out of the pan and set aside.

Cook the remaining paste slowly for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently until it turns a darker colour. Add a little water if it needs it. Get the boy to put the rice on about now. We have a rice cooker otherwise there's no way I'd trust him to get it right. Return the duck, skin side down, to the pan, with the salt and 250ml water. Simmer for 6 minutes, turning once.  Remove the duck again. Add the coconut milk, palm sugar, beans and mango and simmer for 3 minutes. Slice the duck and add it back to the pan along with the lime juice. Two or three more minutes and it’s done.

It does seem like you’re constantly popping the duck in and out but Yotam’s the man so we do as he says.