Braised Duck, Tauhu, Taupok and Rice $5.50
Being a Teochew Ah Hia (Teochew guy), another dish which I am supposed to like is braised duck. It is one of the few dishes that requires more than 3 ingredients which my own father takes the trouble to make. Most of his other dishes just require two ingredients — Fish and Tau Cheo, three if you include the steam.
Anyway, one of the dishes that I remember seeing him try to do when I was a kid was braised duck. It was just about the only dish which he took the trouble to cook. (Mom cooks at home) Braised duck was something which my Teochew grandmother also cooked as well as my Teochew Aunts. So it must be something a Teochew should do. But sadly, I haven’t actually tried to make braised duck myself. Perhaps the time has come…..
But you see, when I get started on any dish, I usually have a gold standard with which to aim for. So far I have yet to really find a braised duck which was so good that I find myself wanting to master it. I have always wondered if this was because I just haven’t found the right braised duck, or perhaps whatever I have eaten before is as good as a braised duck can get.
One of the things that we never used to do though, was braised rice. When you eat braised duck, some stalls serve white rice, some have yam rice and some, like this stall serve rice that has been cooked in braising sauce. At home, we used to just bathe our white rice in the braising sauce. I don’t know about you, but I think the braising rice is more visual appeal than flavour because I still find myself having to pour braising sauce over it.
The duck was good, but again as I alluded earlier, I am not sure if this is as good as braised duck gets. I am not sure if I would ever find a braised duck which I would give a 4.75. This braised duck at this stall is however quite popular amongst our facebook community. Most of them commented that it is the porridge that you should go for. I will make sure to order porridge instead the next time. 4.25/5
The Braised Duck-man here is a 2nd generation Teochew hawker who has been working there since he was a kid when the stall first opened in 1976. He claims that his braising sauce is made from 13 herbs and spices and the recipe has not changed for the last 35 years. Everything about his Braised Duck revolved around the cauldron of braising sauce. It is used to flavour everything from the duck to the porridge to the bean curd. So in a sense, when eating Braised Duck, lose-win (soo ya) is the sauce. Agree?
Conclusion
OK, now I am determined to find the best Braised Duck in Singapore and then to find the best recipe for making it. Any suggestions?
With the closure of Hin Hollywood Canteen, this stall will relocate to 49 Sims Place, Sims Vista Market and Food Centre, S380049, #01-73 wef 19th Sept. The new opening time is 9.30am to 3.30pm daily. 90843407. The stall’s name has been changed to Hollywood Braised Duck.
