French Cuisine: Oriental Duck Consommé Recipe (Consommé de Canard Orientale)
The Vietnamese community in France has had a profound influence on French cooking, as in this Soup — light and rich at the same time, with its intriguing flavours of Southeast Asia. You may also listen to the recipe by pressing the play button below:
Ingredients
- 1 duck carcass (raw or cooked), plus 2 legs or any giblets, trimmed of as much fat as possible
- 1 large onion, unpeeled, with root end trimmed
- 2 carrots, cut into 5cm/2in pieces
- 1 parsnip, cut into 5cm/2in pieces
- 1 leek, cut into 5cm/2in pieces
- 2-4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2.5cm/1 in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced
- 15ml/l tbsp black peppercorns
- 4—6 thyme sprigs, or 5ml/1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 small bunch coriander (6-8 sprigs), leaves and stems separated
- #For the Garnish#
- 1 small carrot
- 1 small leek, halved lengthways
- 4-6 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- Soy sauce
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- Watercress or finely shredded Chinese leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put the duck carcass, the legs or giblets, the onion, carrots, parsnip, leek and garlic in a large heavy saucepan or flameproof casserole. Add the ginger, peppercorns, thyme and coriander stems, cover with cold water and bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, skimming any foam that rises to the surface.
- Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1½—2 hours, then strain through a muslin-lined sieve into a bowl, discarding the bones and vegetables. Cool the stock and chill for several hours or overnight. Skim off any congealed fat and blot the surface with kitchen paper to remove any traces of fat.
- To make the garnish, cut the carrot and leek into 5cm/2in pieces. Cut each piece lengthways in thin slices, then stack and slice into thin julienne strips. Place in a large saucepan with the mushrooms.
- A Pour over the stock and add a few dashes of soy sauce and some pepper. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Adjust the seasoning. Stir in the spring onions and watercress or Chinese leaves. Ladle the consommé into warmed bowls and sprinkle with the coriander leaves.