How to Cook Delicious Duck Congee at Home Like in Restaurants

Prepare the Duck

Clean the duck thoroughly by plucking the feathers and removing the head and tail (these parts often contain a lot of grit and impurities). Also, remove any excess glands from the duck's neck and trim the claws.

To eliminate the duck's gamey odor, rub the skin and meat thoroughly with coarse salt, white wine, and crushed ginger. Rinse the duck clean and let it drain.

For the duck's innards, remove the yellow lining from the gizzard, then rub the gizzard, liver, and intestines with salt, rinse, and drain. These innards can be used to cook the congee or stored in the refrigerator to make other dishes like stir-fried duck innards with vermicelli, kohlrabi stir-fried with duck innards, or duck innards stir-fried with pineapple.

Prepare the Other Ingredients

If using pork bones to enhance the broth's flavor for the congee, prepare them as follows: rub with salt, rinse, then blanch the bones for about 5 minutes. Rinse again and drain.

Roast 3 shallots, a large piece of ginger, and half an onion. Thinly slice the remaining shallots to make fried shallots.

Wash and chop the green onions, coriander, and Vietnamese coriander (rau ngổ).

For the herbs served on the side, pick and wash them thoroughly, especially the Vietnamese coriander, which often has parasites clinging to it. Drain well.

Toast the Rice

Heat a pan, then add the glutinous rice and white rice. Toast over low heat until the rice is fragrant.

Toasting the rice enhances the flavor of the duck congee. However, if you don't have time, you can skip this step.

Make Fried Shallots

To make the duck congee more flavorful, you should fry some shallots and add them when serving. To do this, add oil to a pan, enough to submerge the shallots during frying. Add the shallots while the oil is still cold and fry over medium heat. When the shallots float to the surface, stir them to ensure even cooking.

Fry until the shallots turn a light golden color, then increase the heat and fry quickly for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and continue stirring until the shallots reach a light golden color, then remove them from the oil. The shallots will continue to cook and darken slightly after being removed from the oil.

Avoid frying the shallots too dark as they can easily turn bitter after being removed from the oil due to overcooking.

See details: How to Make Fried Shallots

Boil the Duck and Prepare the Broth

Fill a pot with water, enough to submerge the duck, and add the roasted shallots, ginger, and onion. If using pork bones, add them to the pot as well.

Bring the water to a boil before adding the duck. This helps keep the duck skin crispy and the meat tender.

After adding the duck, keep the heat high until the water returns to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer gently. The average cooking time for the duck is 20-25 minutes, depending on its size.

Once the duck is cooked, uncover the pot and let the duck sit in the hot broth for another 10 minutes as the water cools. This makes the duck meat much more flavorful.

Alternatively, you can debone the duck and return the bones to the pot to simmer for an additional 15 minutes to enhance the broth's flavor. The duck meat can be served in slices or shredded.

Cook the Duck Congee

Once the broth has reached the desired flavor, remove the roasted shallots, ginger, onion, duck bones, and pork bones (if used), then add the toasted rice, stirring well to prevent clumping. Cook until the rice is fully softened and the congee is smooth and creamy.

To ensure the congee doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot, start by boiling the congee over high heat for about 10 minutes to break up the rice. Then, lower the heat to a gentle simmer. The rice will continue to move and soften without sticking.

For the ideal congee consistency, neither too thick nor too thin, use about 14 liters of water for every 1kg of rice.

Once the rice is fully cooked and the congee has a smooth texture, season to taste with salt (or roasted coarse salt), MSG, and a little fish sauce for added flavor. Then, ladle the congee into bowls and top with duck meat to serve.

• There are two popular ways to serve duck congee. First, you can stir the chopped or shredded duck meat directly into the congee, season to taste, and then ladle the congee into bowls. Garnish with chopped green onions, coriander, Vietnamese coriander, fried shallots, and a sprinkle of ground pepper before serving.
• The second method, which is a bit more refined and often seen in upscale restaurants, is to serve the congee with a side of sweet and sour cabbage salad. The duck meat is served separately, cut into pieces, and dipped in a ginger garlic chili fish sauce when eaten.