Recipe: Puppy Duck (Kow Chai Ngap/狗仔鸭)

by Mummy's Kitchen

Is this dish cooked with dog or puppy meat? Be assured that no cute pets were being slaughtered in the process of cooking this dish. Hahaha. It is rumoured that this dish was named as such because it tasted like “dog meat”. Is it true? I’m not sure because I have not tasted dog meat myself so I cannot verify this. The duck is braised with tau cheong (bean paste), nam yue (red fermented bean curd), and the aromatic Chinese leek till is tender.

The first time I’ve ever tasted this dish was when my mother-in-law cooked it. It was so good and tasty that I cannot forget how good it was!! Though this traditionally Cantonese dish is delicious, but sadly it is not very popular. Oh well, I am not surprised if you have not heard of this before. I thought it would be a waste if I did not write down the recipe as I would love to continue to see this dish on our homecooked menu.

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Serves 4 to 5 persons

Ingredients:

1 duck, cut into bite sizes

1½ tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon corn flour

6 to 7 stalks of Chinese leeks, cut by slanting and separating the green and the white pieces

70g old ginger, smashed

2 pieces Nam Yue (red fermented bean curd) + 1 tablespoon the juice from the Nam Yue

1½ tablespoons bean paste

2 pieces tangerine peel (optional)

 

Seasoning:

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

7 to 10g sugar

2 tablespoons Shao Xing wine (Chinese cooking wine)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:

  1. Rub the duck in salt and let sit for about 15 minutes.
  2. Rinse off the salt and blood from the duck pieces . Then drip dry.
  3. Marinade the duck pieces with the 1½ tablespoons of light soy sauce and the corn flour. Let sit for about 1 hour or more.
  4. In a wok, heat up 2 tablespoons of cooking oil.
  5. Add in the duck. Cook till fragrant and all the pieces are browned.
  6. Dish out and set aside.
  7. Using the same wok, add in the ginger and white part of the leeks. Then fry till fragrant.
  8. Next, add in the bean paste and nam yue and fry till fragrant.
  9. Add in the duck pieces and toss till they are mixed well.
  10. Add in Shao Xing wine and combine well.

At this point, I transferred all the ingredients into a claypot. You can continue cooking the dish in the wok if you wish.

  1. Add in enough water to cover the duck, the seasoning, and the red fermented bean curd juice. Then mix well.
  2. Bring it to a boil and cover the claypot/wok. Simmer under medium-low heat for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check the water level in the pot now and add water if needed.
  3. After the 1 hour and 15 minutes, add in the green part of the leeks and simmer for another 10 minutes.
  4. Serve with hot steamed rice.

Note:

If you like, you may add in some corn flour to thicken the sauce after step 12.

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Mummy's Kitchen

Hi! My name is Josephine Go. I blog at BeyondNorm.com in a segment called Mummy’s Kitchen. I love to use fresh and natural ingredients in my cooking to promote healthy eating. Some of my recipes may not be in line with the traditional methods of cooking to the extent that some of the ingredients are different, but hopefully new recipes are being created in my style. I certainly hope that what I do will help guide kitchen first-timers on how to cook their first meal as well as further equip kitchen veterans with new recipes. My loving husband and two wonderful children are my best guinea pigs and critics. They have enjoyed (or endured) the food that has been served to them for all these years. Mind you, I did not know how to cook or ever knew that I could cook till I got married. So there is hope for everyone. If I can cook, you can cook. You will not know how good or talented you are until you put your hand in the plough.

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