I wasn’t too pleased with my attempt at cooking the nonya soup Itek Tim (Duck and salted vegetable soup). The soup turned out ok, but the duck was tough and honestly, I had trouble finding the duck meat coz the meat had fallen off the bones. I guess it was because of the part of the duck I used. The lady who sold me the duck told me that it would be more convenient for me to use duck wings since I was only cooking for hubby and myself. Taking her suggestion, I bought half a kg of it instead of half a duck. Bad choice I guess. But I’d never know if I didn’t try it. At least that’s a lesson learnt. 🙂
Modified the recipe from Nonya Favourites by Lee Geok Boi.
Itek Tim (serves 2)
Ingredients:
- half a duck, cut into half (please use half a duck instead of wings or isolated parts of the duck!)
- 300g pickled mustard (kiam chye)
- 3 preserved plums
- 2 pieces asam gelugor (rinsed)
- 3cm old ginger (peeled and smashed)
- 1.5-2L water
- 1-2 dashes of ground white pepper
- 2 small tomatoes (cut into quarters, seeds removed)
- 1 chilli (remove seeds)
- 2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
Method:
- Clean the duck, removing any visible fat.
- Blanch the duck.
- Rinse kiam chye several times. If very salty, soak for 15min and taste again. Cut into chunks of 4cm squares.
- Bring water to boil in a large claypot. Add the duck, ginger, plums, asam gelugor, pepper and 1 tablespoon brandy (optional). Simmer gently for 1 hour, skimming the surface to remove any fat.
- Add kiam chye at the 1hour mark and simmer for another 45min, adding tomatoes and chilli 10min before the end. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
- Leave the soup to stand for several hours to allow the flavours to develop.
- If you wish, and have brandy on hand, you can add 1 tablespoon of brandy before serving.
Note: This soup is best consumed the next day (or a few days) after cooking, as the flavour will be even better then!
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