Braised duck with napa cabbage on rice
Skinless duck braised with tangerine peel and ginger until tender, then simmered with sweet napa cabbage that soaks up the sauce — a cooling winter tonic.
- 1 hr
- Serves 3
- Braise
- Easy
Why it suits you: Damp-heat types still get a bitter taste in the mouth and spots in winter, so their tonics should be cooling. Duck is cool, nourishes yin and drains water; with the skin and fat removed and braised with sweet napa cabbage, it nourishes without overheating.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 45 min- 1Cook the rice. Pull off most of the duck skin and fat, blanch the pieces for 3 minutes, then rinse.
- 2Heat the oil in a wok, fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, add the duck and stir-fry for 5 minutes to render the fat. Pour off the excess.
- 3Add the tangerine peel, soy sauce and water, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
- 4Add the cabbage and simmer for 10 minutes until soft and full of sauce. Season with salt and serve with the rice.
Cautions
- Do remove the duck skin and fat — the grease would only add to damp-heat.
Chef's tips
- Ask the butcher to chop the duck into small pieces so it braises faster.
The TCM view
Duck is sweet, salty and slightly cool, nourishing yin, settling the stomach and draining water; napa cabbage is sweet and neutral, clearing heat, easing irritability and keeping the bowels moving; aged tangerine peel moves qi and dries damp; a little ginger and garlic remove gaminess and warm the stomach. A clean, balanced tonic that won't add to damp-heat.
