Herbal Duck Noodle (鸭腿面线)

Herbal duck noodle is one of the delicious hawker foods from Penang. It's not as common as other famous hawker food like char kuay teow or Penang laksa, and so when I was a kid staying in Penang, this dish was usually out of my "radar" when I was dining out. I was re-introduced to this dish few years ago during one of my trips back to my hometown and at that point in time, I regretted for not having this dish more often before. To make up for the losses, it's now one of the must-haves whenever I'm there!

I tried to cook my own herbal duck noodle today by referring to a recipe from the cookbook, Malaysia Hawker Delights. I used a few types of Chinese herbs to make the soup base and it's cooked with duck pieces for 1.5 hours. The "noodle" used for this dish is actually misua, a type of long and fine vermicelli. If you are interested, click here for a more detailed explanation of misua.

I'm glad that it turned out to be very close to what I usually have in Penang, needless to say, herbal duck noodle will be a common dish on my dining table from now onwards!

Herbal Duck Noodles 鸭腿面线

Ingredients:
1kg duck
650g noodle (mee sua) 面线
2.5 liter water
4 sections of sugar canes
8-10 red dates

Chinese Herbs
50g wolfberry 枸杞
50g fu shen 伏神
50g huai shan 淮山
50g dang shen 党参
3 pcs chuan xiong 川芎

Seasoning:
1 tsp dark soy sauce (to rub onto duck)
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp salt

Method:
1) Immerse duck in boiling water for a while. Remove and pat dry with kitchen absorbent paper. Rub with dark soy sauce all over the duck’s skin. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Remove, rinse under cool water. Drain well and cut into about 12 pieces.
2) Put the herbs, water, sugar canes, red dates and duck pieces into a pot. Bring to boil. Reduce to low heat, simmer for 1.5 - 2 hours or till the duck meat is tender. Add seasoning.
3) Blanch the noodles in boiling water. Dish up. Arrange the required amount in a bowl. Add in duck soup and duck pieces. Garnish with chopped spring onion.