Radish Stewed Duck (白萝卜焖鸭）

INTRODUCTION

I am unsure this dish belongs to which dialect group but my wife’s auntie who is a Hakka used to cook this. She loved this duck and radish combo..

I never have a chance to taste this until we get married at her aunties house. Surprisingly it is quite a nice combo. Radishes are used possibly because radishes can withstand long cooking hours.

Accordingly to traditional Chinese medicine, both duck and radishes have cooling purposes to the body. In addition, both aids in digestion too. In mainland China, it is a rather popular soup or stewed dishes that was served during the autumn..

What I am sharing is what my wife loves to eat and resembles the one that her aunties used to cook. It is a stewed version rather than the soup version that are more common in the internet.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 4-6 adult servings

Half a duck of about 1 kg (cut into big chunk)
One radish of at least 300 grams (cut into big pieces (about 1 inches cube)
About 4 cm long ginger (cut in big pieces)
10 cloves of garlics (wash but with skin membrane on)
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce
1 tablespoon of light soya sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
Pinches of salt

STEPS OF PREPARATION

Blanch the duck in some hot boiling water for about 5 minutes or until the exterior has firmed up. Transfer the blanched duck to a pressure cooker. Add in all the ingredients and adequate water just to cover the duck. (Note that the duck and carrot when cooked will emit some juices too). Pressure cook under “meat function” until the meat is soft. If the meat is not soft and tender enough, you can pressure cooked for another 1/2 cycle. Let it rest in the pressure cooker for at least 1/2 hour for the meat to be more flavourful.

Best served hot as a standard side dish in a typical Chinese meal.

Notes

If you want it to be more fragrant, in a frying pan, add in 2-3 tablespoons of oil, sauté the ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick and star anises until aromatic. Add the blanch duck and stir fry until the fragrance are well incorporated in the duck. Transfer the duck to the pressure cooker, add adequate water and seasonings, pressure cook until the meat is soft and tender. The advantage of this approach is that it is more aromatic but it will be more greasy.

If you do not have pressure cooker which is the fastest, alternatives are over the stove, slow cooker or even rice cooker soup function. You will have to monitor your cooking time and the end result shall be soft and tender duck meat.

If you do not like duck, you can use the same method to stew these radishes with beef or pork ribs. Chicken can be considered also though the timing will be much faster.

CONCLUSION

This is a rather presentable dish and can be served if you have a house guest. If you have never try this dish before, you will be surprised how well duck cooked with radishes. Of course if you do not like duck, you can always used other meats.. Do give it a try and let me know if it suits your taste buds.

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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