Asian Duck Soup with Fragrant Rice

Ingredients

• 2 cm ginger
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 1 Carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 ducks (thighs without skin)
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 2 Pak Choi
• 8 Thai eggplants
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 red chili pepper
• 1 handful fresh soybean sprouts
• 150 g fragrant rice
• Salt
• 1 tbsp peanuts

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel the ginger and slice thinly. Crush the lemongrass. Peel the carrot and onion, then cut both into large pieces. Peel the garlic cloves and halve them. Wash the duck thighs and place them in a large pot. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and skim off the foam. Add the ginger, lemongrass, carrot, onion, garlic, peppercorns, and soy sauce. Simmer gently over low heat with the lid half‑closed for about 1½ hours.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile wash, trim, and split the pak choi into individual leaves; cut smaller if desired. Wash and halve the eggplants. Wash, trim, and slice the bell pepper into thin strips. Wash the chili, deseed, and dice small. Rinse the sprouts and drain them.

3. 3.

   Wash the rice in a sieve and cook according to package instructions in salted water.

4. 4.

   Remove the meat from the finished broth, let it cool, separate from the bone, remove fat, and cut into strips. Strain the broth through a cloth and bring about 1 liter of it to a boil in a fresh pot. Add the pak choi, bell pepper, eggplants, chili, and duck strips to the soup and cook for 1–2 minutes over low heat until warmed.

5. 5.

   Arrange some rice and sprouts on a plate, pour the soup over them, sprinkle with peanuts, and serve with extra fragrant rice on the side.