In a previous post, I mentioned that Maggie and I were able to purchase a variety of cuts of duck from one of our local supermarkets. The range included pre-cooked duck legs that were packaged with one of three different sauces. Of the latter, our favourite was a red Thai curry sauce. We must have been in a small minority because the producer – Victorian company ‘Luvaduck’ – decided to drop it from the range. Oh calamity!

Once we got over our disappointment, we resolved that home-cooked red Thai curry duck legs had to remain on our menu. Now, Luvaduck also produces a pack of two confit legs, so all we needed to do was learn how to make a suitable sauce. An internet search unearthed numerous recipes for a Thai red curry sauce to serve with duck. We chose this one, owing to the author’s infectious enthusiasm!

For our first attempt, we followed the recipe fairly closely. Because confit duck legs and their accompanying jelly are already quite salty, we didn’t need to add fish sauce. We also deleted the turmeric – for some reason it doesn’t suit our palate.

The result was pretty good but we decided to simplify the recipe a bit further to allow us to use only ingredients that we have in our pantry and fridge at all times.

So, to make the sauce we saute three sliced brown/French shallots and two sliced garlic cloves in vegetable oil until they are soft and golden. Then we add about 20ml of red curry paste and one teaspoon of brown sugar and stir it through the shallot mix. Next, we add ALL of the jelly from the duck leg pack and about 100 ml of chicken stock. The jelly adds a pleasing degree of richness to the sauce.

When the liquid comes to a simmer, we add about 100ml of coconut milk and 10-15ml of our homemade sweet chilli sauce.

Meanwhile, the duck legs are being heated to a crisp, golden-brown finish in our oven, at 170C. This take about 25 minutes.

To finish the sauce, we add more coconut milk and sweet chilli sauce to taste, and about 15ml of lime juice, again to suit your own palate.

And here is how the finished dish looks, served with some basmati rice to which we have added some small pieces of carrot as it cooks.

We serve ourselves red Thai curry duck legs at least once a month, on average, and our palates never tire of it. Truly duckadent!

Cheers for now!
Rick Grounds