Name: Red Duck Thai Curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 6 duck legs; 1 batch of Thai red curry paste; 2 tbsp palm sugar; 400ml (13⁄4 cups) thick coconut milk; 3 lime leaves, stalks removed and leaves finely julienned; 2–3 tbsp Thai fish sauce; 225g (8oz) pineapple, cut into bite-size pieces; 10 seedless green or purple grapes, halved; 10 baby plum tomatoes, halved; 2 red spur chillies, sliced, to garnish; Small bunch of Thai basil, roughly chopped, to garnish

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If you like red curry, you will love this posh version, red duck Thai curry.

This is the red Thai curry I make most often. Of course you could try my Thai red curry adding any protein you like including duck.

This red duck Thai curry takes it all up a few notches though. You really need to make this!

Red duck Thai curry in the pan it was cooked in.

Photo by Kris Kirkham for ‘The Curry Guy Thai’ cookbook.

About this recipe.

Thai red duck curry is a popular version of red curry. This one has added flavour though.

Rather than cooking small bit sized pieces of meat or vegetables in the red curry, you brown and then slowly stew the duck legs until the curry is out of this world amazing.

Stewing the duck on the bone achieves more depth of flavour and it’s one of the reasons I love this Thai red duck curry so much.

What else if different about this duck curry?

In addition to cooking the duck legs (the most flavoursome part of the duck), you will also be adding grapes and pineapple chunks to the sauce.

This might sound a bit strange at first but as the fruit stews into the sauce, it adds delicious flavour.

You don’t have to add it if fruit in a curry isn’t your thing.

How to you make this Thai red duck curry to perfection?

We all have our own personal taste preferences. When cooking Thai food, or any food for that matter, it is a good idea to try it as you cook. You can always introduce more spicy, sweet, sour or savoury flavours.

Once your duck meat is tender, that is when you can really start perfecting the sauce. You can go for a thin sauce which is popular at many restaurants or cook it down to thicken it some.

Do you have to make your own red curry paste?

I get asked this a lot and the answer is, you should. No you don’t have to make your own red curry paste but your Thai red duck curry will be better if you do.

If you prepare the curry paste the traditional way, it could take you up to an hour to make it. That is so good but you could also just blend the paste ingredients which takes a couple of minutes.

What is the difference between shop bought curry paste and homemade?

Commercial curry pastes do not have nearly as many ingredients and usually contain a lot of salt to make them taste good. Many can be very spicy.

When you make your own red curry paste, you get so much more flavour. No salt is added so that you can add salt at the end of cooking your curry.

As there is usually a lot of chillies and salt in commercial curry pastes, you need to add a lot less or you can quickly overpower the curry with salt and chillies. When you prepare your own red curry paste, you blend so many other complimentary ingredients such as shallots, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, shrimp paste, fresh and dried chillies, coriander and garlic into the paste.

You can safely add a whole batch to a curry like this without making it too salty or spicy.

Does this recipe feature in any of your cookbooks?

Yes. You will find it on page 107 of ‘The Curry Guy Thai’.

How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?

You can store any leftovers in your fridge for 3 to 4 days. In fact, as the curry sits in the fridge, the flavours will develop and it will be even better.

To reheat your Thai red duck curry, just place it all in a pan over a medium heat and cook it to a simmer, ensuring the duck meat is really hot all the way through before serving.

You might like to try some of these Thai recipes too.

THAI SOUPS

CURRIES

THAI NOODLE RECIPES

FRIED THAI

STIR FRIES

THAI BBQ

Have you tried this Thai red duck curry recipe?

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Yield: 4