Strangely, the dish of vinegared duck for Tet Doan Ngo 5/5 of the lunar calendar of Hanoi people when adding this root to the pot of water

During Tet Doan Ngo, Hanoi people often make vinegared duck – a rather strange dish and the way to boil it is a bit different. When you put this tuber in, let it cool down and still be delicious and not fishy.

Duck meat processing

Coming to the end of the fourth lunar month, many people stopped “abstaining from bad luck” and I also bought a couple of ducks to cook a rustic, strange, and attractive dish – it’s vinegared duck meat to treat guests at the weekend.

Duck meat needs to be cleaned before processing. Illustration.

People are used to preliminarily processed duck meat to make different dishes such as boiled duck, duck with bamboo shoots, roasted duck, stewed duck with lotus seed nuggets, potential duck… recently, there is a dish of braised duck with crocodile.

But the old Hanoians have a traditional dish of duck that is quietly disappearing – it’s duck with vinegared sauce.

I vaguely remember my mother’s old way of doing things (she passed away from the mountain almost 20 years ago).

At that time, there were many difficulties in subsidizing, but every time on the occasion of the Dragon Boat Festival (the 5th day of the 5th lunar month), or the full moon in the seventh month, to pardon the sins of the dead, the mother would present a dish of vinegared duck for the whole family to eat.

My mother said that ducks are the most suitable for this dish, gourd ducks are fine, but only a few people like to eat well, choose grass ducks.

Accordingly, a pair of ducks bought for preliminary processing, then rubbed salt – ginger – wine thoroughly to eliminate odors.

Each duck is boiled with 3 ounces of cinnamon pork (the pork is full of three only), with a little white salt. Then take it out and wash it with pure water for the duck and clean white meat.

Filter duck meat into small pieces, set aside on a plate.

Cut pork belly into small pieces, set aside on a plate.

Boil a piece of pork liver separately – about 3 ounces of glutinous liver (the kind of liver smooth face, firm hand) drop into boiling water, add a little salt, pieces of ginger, grilled onions for more fragrance.

When the liver is fully cooked, discard the liver broth – then rinse with boiling water to cool, then cut into small pieces like pork belly and duck and set aside on a separate plate.

Vinegar duck meat tray. Photo: Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung.

Duck bones are added to simmer with meat broth over low heat until the water is clear. The water is simmered, then drop into a few slices of old cilantro, with a little vinegar, the sticky rice will turn yellow (if not, squeeze the lemons later) for fragrance. Absolutely do not give crocodile, star fruit for sour taste – because it will make the broth grayish black and lose its taste). If you like to eat noodles, sprinkle a little called, then let it cool.

Choose cilantro and make dipping sauce

Apricot leaves, basil leaves, shredded fresh bamboo shoots, coriander leaves (yes or not), a little each, accompanied by thinly sliced ​​young banana stems, washed and soaked, bleached with a little vinegar or lemon juice – is a vegetable dish.

Mix a bowl of lemon-lime shrimp paste – those who can’t eat shrimp paste, replace it with lemon – garlic – chili – pepper sauce. Or people who can’t eat fish sauce should present a plate of salt, pepper, lemon, and chili.

Chop the old galangal into small slices, or pound the old galangal into a plate. It is not recommended to use pre-ground/grated galangal outside because it is less fragrant, loses all its juice, and is easily mixed with colorants.

When eating, pick up a piece of each: 1 piece of duck meat, 1 piece of pork belly, 1 piece of pork liver, 1 stalk of vegetables each, 1 piece of Thai galangal, and a spoonful of shrimp paste (or a spoonful of garlic fish sauce, or a little salt and pepper lemon – optional).

The vinegared duck meat dish has the sweet and fragrant taste of duck meat, the greasy taste of pork belly, the fleshy taste of a well-boiled liver, plus the aroma of mixed vegetables, the cool taste of bananas and pieces. Fresh bamboo shoots, the smell of lemongrass shrimp paste, spicy chili slices… very attractive.

Eating vinegared duck in the season of duck chasing the field – is a very suitable hot summer time.

After each piece of vinegared duck, take a separate sip of the duck bone broth.

The smell of old galangal has a light aroma and a very pleasant sweet taste. Those who want to add vermicelli are more and more firm. This type of duck meat broth is still fragrant when cooled, no fishy taste at all, and cool, making the heat in the body disappear at noon.