This hotpot suits a crowded table, with a clean sour broth and duck simmered until it falls off the bone. The tricky part is clearing the gaminess, because a rushed job leaves the whole pot smelling strong and looking cloudy.
Rub the duck with coarse salt, then with white rice wine and crushed ginger. Taro fried briefly before it goes into the pot tastes nuttier and holds its shape instead of dissolving into the broth. Score the sau fruit lightly before dropping them in so the sourness spreads evenly.
This batch weighs about 3.1kg, at roughly 102 calories per 100g.
Method
Pluck the duck clean and remove the lungs and spleen so the broth stays free of dirty foam and the meat keeps its color. Rub coarse salt firmly inside and out, rinse thoroughly, then rub on white rice wine and crushed ginger to clear the odor. Drain, then chop into bite sized pieces.
Peel the shallots and garlic, strip the tough outer layers from the lemongrass, then crush and mince them. Cut the chili into short lengths. Wash the sau fruit and score them lightly so the sourness comes out. Roughly chop the spring onion and sawtooth herb. Peel the taro, cut it into pieces about 2.5cm thick and fry it briefly so it holds together.
Marinate the duck with 1 tablespoon coarse salt, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/3 tablespoon MSG and 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper, along with the minced shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chili. Mix well and leave for 30 to 40 minutes.
Mix the dips to taste. Salt, pepper and lime: 3 teaspoons seasoning salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, a few chili slices and the juice of half a lime. Garlic chili fish sauce: 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon chili sauce, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 3 tablespoons water. Garlic chili soy sauce: 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 5 tablespoons water.
Put 2 tablespoons cooking oil in a pot, fry the remaining shallot, garlic, ginger and lemongrass until fragrant, then add the duck and stir fry until the surface firms up.
Once the duck is seared, add the sau fruit and water, about 4 liters in total. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming the foam and leaving the lid off so the broth stays clear.
Add the taro and simmer for another 15 minutes. Lift out about two thirds of the sau fruit, mash them in a bowl and return them to the pot for a rounder sourness, keeping 5 whole ones in the pot for looks. Move everything to the hotpot, dip in the vegetables, mushrooms and tofu, and serve with rice vermicelli.
Tips
Removing the lungs and spleen before cooking keeps the broth free of dirty foam and the meat from darkening.
Taro fried briefly before it goes in tastes nuttier and holds its shape.
A gentle simmer with the lid off and steady skimming is what keeps the broth clear.
Mashing two thirds of the sau fruit and returning them to the pot spreads the sourness evenly.
Score the sau fruit lightly rather than peeling it, since peeled fruit dissolves into the pot and turns the broth sharply sour.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.