Chinatown New York Market -- Dried Cured Duck [moved from Mid-Atlantic board]
Well it was my first time seeing this one. At Hong Kong Market in Brooklyn Chinatown (around 55th Street) there is a great market, though similar to a couple you might see in Manhattan Chinatown. They had a few ducks hanging up, and I bought half a one, and it turned out to be COMPLETELY different from any other duck I might have ever had from Chinatown, though I saw that it looked kind of, well, flat. The label they pasted on it said dried and cured. It was brown in color, though they had white ones too. And, yes, it seems similar to bacon.
So I tried to eat a little piece, I had them cut it all up. It had all the fat on it. It was .. interesting, but very different. Much more compressed and well, cured and dried.
Anybody every encounter this stuff? Can I just eat it as is or should I kinda cook it up first?
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In closing, I'm just gonna say first thanks for all the advice and feedback - I was amazed someone (fourunder) could answer my question so quickly.
But I also gotta say, after eating most of the duck rice, that it really came out too strong and with too much fat. I'm guessing a duck cured that way still has all the fat on it and none cooked off. Also to my taste 1/4 rather than 1/2 duck would have been more than sufficient for the 1 cup dry rice. I'm a fairly adventurous eater though I don't go for pork intestine and such, I eat food from most cuisines and cook Thai curries at home. I don't think I'd get the cured duck again. I bet it was like putting 1/2 stick to a while stick of butter in that rice lol. I'm not complaining about anyone's help here! Those are just my own conclusions and experience.
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re: Ianto2000
Melanie Wong
Jan 29, 2008 10:46 AM
Just one leg (thigh and drumstick) would be more enough for that amount of rice. In our area, we can buy just the boneless legs of cured duck and one lasts a long time.
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re: Ianto2000
DarthEater
Jan 29, 2008 08:18 PM
You can continue to hang it to air dry until the fat drips away. We usually purchase the ones that has been aged longer for a leaner duck. I would still hang it however.
We only use a a couple of pieces into the rice cooker. 1/4 is way too much. For one cup of rice, I would just use one small piece (1"x1/2"). Its not meant to be a main dish. Way too rich.
Like I said, It goes a long way so you wont be needing to purchase another one anytime soon.
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re: Ianto2000
I also agree that you used way too much duck. I think just the thigh/drumstick portion adequately flavors about 2 cups of rice. If you are concerned about the fat you can try steaming in plate above the rice as the rice cooks. You need to give it another shot! The duck, along preserved pork belly and chinese sausage (and a fried egg on top of it all) are one of the best combinations to eat over rice.
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re: Ianto2000
Ianto,
I would suggest you try the duck one more time. As others have suggested, you do not need to put as much duck in the rice as you did, usually a leg and thigh are suffice. If you are a savvy shopper, you can purchase the duck very inexpensively. I usually purchase it at Ping's Dried Beef on Mulberry whenever it is available and it is usually $2 or less. This past week I went to the large market north of Canal Street, the one that has entrances on both Elizabeth and Mott Streets.........the duck leg quarters were $2.99 each.
BTW, if you did not do so the first time, you should have cut the duck into cross sections....about eight pieces would seem right for a leg quarter......also, leg quarters have less fat than the breast, back and tail.
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The Chinese lady at my local Asian market sold me some recently. I asked her what to do with it and she told me that it can be used to flavor congee or soup. She said a samll piece goes a long way. I tried it in soup and it does add a rich flavor to it. I have some that I am saving for the next time I cook congee. Great buy, Ianto! It is not an easy product to find. I am on the lookout for more of it.
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Traditionally, one way this type of duck is used to flavor Congee or Rice Porridge....but my favorite way to have it is cooked atop rice on the stove or rice maker........the duck flavors and seasons the rice incredibly beyond words.......chicken cannot match it.
Eating the duck after it has been steamed atop the rice is the preferred recipe for many Chinese homes.
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re: Ianto2000
Although I love bacon......Chinese bacon does not do anything for me, but same principle, cook in the rice along with Chinese Sausage.
If you like the Duck flavored rice......try salted chicken next time. The chicken must be cured with salt for a miniimum of six hours to have it absorbed into the meat to taste the difference.......works best with dark meats.
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re: fourunder
I'm absolutely certain I will like the duck flavored rice. It sure seemed like it needed something other just than to be eaten as is. The steam from the rice should help it a lot. I ordinarily just had the regular Chinese duck. This was a little outta control.:) But I love trying new exotic things, even when you are in an area where it is a huge language barrier to order a half duck instead of whole. We had dim sum around there too and though we've had a lot of dim sum in NY, this was defintely one of the odder ones. The usual food, a huge place, but we were surely the only if not one of the two non-Chinese people there. We did just fine though, they understand "shrimp" and "pork":)
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re: Ianto2000
If you like Roast Duck, there is a shop on the LES on Grand on the west corner of Eldridge Streets.
Roast Duck is $8.75
Peking Duck is $10.00
Roast Pig is $4.00Elsewhere in the city, these prices would be $15/20/6.50
both are whole and fully cooked, if you want it cut/chopped up, they charge you an additional $1.00. I prefer mine whole, not chopped up. They also have all the other BBQ meats, such as Red Roast Pork and Roast Pig....Soy Sauce Chicken.
You cannot purchase and cook it yourself any cheaper......maybe better, but I know I cannot.
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re: Ianto2000
While it may seem I am being cheap to save a dollar, that really is not the case(or at least, that's what I tell myself)......I was raised in a restaurant family and am familiar with my way around a kitchen and knives. Whether purchasing duck or pork products, I ask for it whole so I can chop it nicely, instead of them hacking it. If you were to reheat it later for presentation at the dinner table.....it will reheat better and stay more moist in it's whole state and it's easier to transfer nicely from the cutting board, rather than the aluminum pans.
Also, I can cut the pieces with the meats and skin intact, not falling apart....the back, neck, head and rib areas I can cut away and save for my Mother who likes to use in her soups and eat the skin separately.
With the pork, I can slice it thick or thin......or chop it into smaller dice for fried rice......or julienne for noodle dishes.
Keeping the meats or birds whole preserves the integrity and does not dry out the meats as a cut up bird/meats will.
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re: fourunder
Ah that makes sense re: cutting it up the way you want and keeping it fresher.
The duck rice turned out really great but also incredibly intense, though that's not a bad thing. I think the half dried/cured duck could've gone equally well with 2 cups of rice as opposed to 1. But it's awesome and the rice fried a bit in the duck fat.
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re: Ianto2000
DarthEater
Jan 27, 2008 05:47 PM
If you enjoyed that, then you should consider trying the preserved pork belly and dried chinese sausage along with it. Combining all three meats with preserved fish is my favorite claypot casserole rice.
These are usually used for flavoring and goes a long way so I store them in my freezer.
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re: fourunder
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re: Ianto2000
Ianto2000,
Should there be a next time you try to cook the cured duck with rice, experiment and see if you like to have the duck cooked into the rice instead of just on top. If you stir the duck into the rice after it has begun to absorb the water or stock, by mixing it in, more of the rice will be flavored instead of just a top layer.
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