Title: Pet Palo (Steamed Duck)
Categories: Entree Meat Poultry Thai Chinese
Yield: 4 Servings

		PET PALO (STEAMED DUCK)
		[THAI WITH CHINESE
		INFLUENCES]
		============================
		=========================
		This recipe is to steam a 4
	lb	Duck. As described here it
		Is best
		Cooked in one of the
		Combination electric
		Steamer/pans popular in
		Thailand: these have a
		Largish pan that can be used
		As a frying
		Pan/skillet or as a
		Sauce-pan, and on this a
		Steamer large enough
		For the duck sits. The whole
		Is plugged into the mains
		Electricity
		And is elegant enough to
		Place on the table. I leave
		It to the
		Ingenuity of the reader to
		Work out how to do this in
		Other
		Equiment

Maggi Sauce (a thick black sauce made by the Swiss company Maggi) is now a traditional ingredient in many Thai dishes.

BASE SAUCE:

Mix equal parts of Maggi seasoning suace, mushroom soy sauce, Oyster sauce, and dark sweet soy sauce, varying the quantities slightly according to taste, to make up three cups of base sauce.

SAUCE: (Additional Ingredients)

6 cups water 8-12 cloves garlic, crushed or minced 1/4 cup chopped cilantro/coriander (including the roots if poss) 1-2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon fish sauce (this is the "salty" flavor - to taste 3 cups base sauce (above) 1/2 cup palm sugar.

METHOD:

Place the water in the base of the steamer and bring to a boil. Add the other ingredients, and stir until it is boiling then reduce heat to simmering point. Put the duck in the top container and steam for 35-40 minutes. At which point the duck should be nearly cooked. Turn off the heat, and allow the duck to cool until you can handle it (professional chefs with asbestos hands probably don't need to let it cool at all), remove the legs and wings, then fillet the duck. Place all the meat, the wings and the legs in the sauce, and keep the bones to make soup stock.

Place the base pan on the table with the lid in place, and about 15 minutes before you want to eat switch it back on. This will complete the cooking and allow the meat to absorb the flavor of the sauce. Provide a pair of chopsticks so the diners can serve themselves. You will also need a small ladle to serve the sauce.

Serve with chillis marinated in dark sweet soy and fresh ground ginger as condiments, and either steamed jasmine rice or sticky rice.

FOOTNOTE:

This is how we serve it to an adult table -- when children are present we serve the meat to each diner and decant the sauce into a sauceboat: it prevents fights over the legs!

From: "Colonel I. F. K. Philpott" From: Sam Lefkowitz Date: 03-14-96

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