Pickled mustard greens or dưa cải chua is a very popular side dish for a typical Vietnamese meal. Braising the pickled mustard greens with a protein takes this side dish up a notch. The fattiness of the duck complements the tartness of the pickled mustard greens. I find myself unable to stop eating once I start and I hope you do too.

This recipe is rated medium in difficulty and takes approximately 30 minutes.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups of pickled mustard greens (recipe here)

one half of a duck

½ teaspoon salt

2 ¼  teaspoons sugar

⅛ cup of ginger

1 ½ teaspoon teaspoons chicken bouillon powder (Knorr bouillon granule are available at your local supermarket)

½ teaspoon ground, black pepper

3 tablespoons diced yellow onion

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 cups of water

a few whole Thai chili (optional for flavor)

Directions

Cut the duck into smaller pieces. You can also have a butcher precut the meat.

Add ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder and 2 tablespoons of chopped onions to the duck and mix well.

Julienne ⅛ cup of ginger.

In a pan on high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of diced onions. When the diced onions become translucent, add the duck to the pan and sear all the sides.

Once the duck is seared on all sides, add the ginger and continue to sauteé. Turn the heat to medium.

Wring out any excess water from the pickled mustard greens. Add 2 ½ cups of pickled mustard greens and whole chilies (optional) to the pan.

Add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 2 cups of water, ½ teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder, 1 ¼ teaspoons of sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of cracked pepper.

With the lid on, simmer on low for 10 minutes and serve with rice.

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Authors: Susan Tran and Chau Hoang