Kang-Ped Bhet-Yang - Thai Roast Duck Red Curry.
Submitted by janny
Kang ped bhet yang, Thai roast duck red curry with homemade curry paste, coconut cream, Thai basil, and Kaffir lime. A Bangkok restaurant classic with layered heat and sweet-savory complexity.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
45 minREADY
1 hrsKang ped bhet yang is one of Thailand’s most elegant curries, pairing crispy roast duck with a rich coconut-based red curry and sweet aromatics like Kaffir lime and Thai basil. It’s the dish you order at a proper Thai restaurant when you’re ready to skip the stir-fries.
The homemade red curry paste is worth every second. Pounding chilies, lemongrass, galangal, coriander root, shrimp paste, and spices together in a mortar releases oils and compounds that machine-blended pastes miss. Commercial pastes work as a shortcut if time is short, but fresh paste tastes brighter and more layered.
Cracking the coconut cream is the technique that separates authentic Thai curry from shortcut versions. Heat the thick cream in a pan and fry the curry paste in it until “red oil” rises to the surface. This breaks the fat from the cream so the curry carries a glossy, orange-red layer of flavored oil rather than tasting thin and milky.
Using already-roasted duck as a shortcut is traditional in Thai kitchens. Street markets sell pre-roasted Chinese-style duck specifically for this curry. The skin stays crisp through the quick simmer, and the duck’s rendered fat enriches the sauce.
Add Thai basil only at the very end, after the curry has come to a boil. Thai basil’s spicy anise flavor disappears if cooked more than a minute; added at the finish, it perfumes the bowl with fresh aromatics.
Serve with plain jasmine rice, not fragrant or seasoned rice, so the curry’s complexity stands out.
Chef Tips
- Chinese BBQ duck from an Asian market is the authentic source for this dish. Roast your own only if you can’t buy one; store-roasted is both easier and more traditional.
- Fish sauce is the seasoning, not salt. Taste and add fish sauce until the curry has proper savory depth; salt alone tastes flat against the coconut.
- Thai eggplants (round, golf-ball-sized, green) are not the same as globe or Japanese eggplants. Substitute small pea eggplants if available, not regular eggplant.
- Kaffir lime leaves should be torn, not chopped. Tearing releases more oils from the veins.
Variations
- Add lychees or pineapple chunks in the final minutes for a classic sweet-savory Bangkok-style twist.
- Swap duck for pre-roasted chicken, pork, or poached salmon for a lighter version.
- Use 2 kaffir lime leaves and zest of one regular lime if you can’t find kaffir lime.
Ingredients
Directions
Put the ingredients for the red curry paste into a mortar and pound until well mixed into a paste. NOTE: You may use commercially available paste, if available. Adjust the amount to taste.
Debone the roast duck, and cut up the meat into bite-size rectangular pieces (leaving the skin on).
Cut the neck and wing into pieces. Place the coconut milk in a large saucepan and heat until boiling.
Add duck pieces and cook until tender. Put the coconut cream into a frying pan, add red curry paste.
Heat over fairly high heat, stiring constantly, until all the paste have mixed in and thoroughly heated.
Add Kaffir Lime leaves, fish sauce (to taste), coconut sugar, and continue to heat (keep stiring all the time to prevent burning) until red oil starts to form on the surface of the “sauce".
Add the “sauce” to the saucepan of duck and coconut milk, and bring back to a boil.
Add all remaining ingredients except the basils, which is to be added when the curry starts to boil.
Remove from heat and serve with plain boiled white rice.
Comments
