Duck Tongues

[Daniel]

Was down in Chinatown picking up groceries for Sichuan Cooking when I came across duck tongue.. I have eaten them before, but dont know how to prepare them.. Should they be boiled and then pan fried? How long should they cook for..

I would also love a great recipe if someone has one.. I would prefer Sichuan, but would love any kind that you think is great...

Edited November 8, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

I don't think that I have ever seen a package of duck tongues. I didn't know what I had been missing. Thanks!

Those must have been some big ducks.

Oh, sorry, I don't have any real helpful hints except that everything is better when it is fried in fat. It's almost impossible to go wrong. With the right batter, even an old tire can be made palatable.

Good luck.

[allister]

i know that the guys at sumile would confit the duck tongues, remove the cartiledge in the center and then deep fry them to use as a garnish.

If the cartiledge does not bother you, i would coat them in a seasoned flour mixture and pan fry or deep fry (your choice depending on your instruments at home) and then re-season.

After that, i would approach it similiarly to any protein used in chinese stir fry cooking. you could stir fry some bellpeppers and onions and then add the fried tongues with black bean sauce. You could stir fry some leaks and cabbage, then add the duck tongues and some chili oil to make a play on twice cooked pork.

Additionally, if you wanted you could potentially take the red cooking/soy-sauce braising method and cook the tongues that way and have a sort of snack item.

Hope this is helpful.

[Daniel]

Mayhaw Man,

Yah, me too.. Never saw a package of ducks tongues.. There were a few interesting items packed up in that store.. Pig Uteri is another one that comes to mind.. Any cajun dishes with Uteri?

Edited November 8, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[FoodMan]

This thread might help

[Daniel]

Allister,

Thanks for the advice.. The confit idea is a great one.. I like that double cooked tongue idea. I will most likely do that real spicey like..

[Daniel]

Thank Foodman,

Thats the great thing about E-gullet.. I can confidently purchase any ingredient knowing there are people to help me through the process..

Edited November 8, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Badiane]

Mayhaw Man,

Yah, me too.. Never saw a package of ducks tongues.. There were a few interesting items packed up in that store..  Pig Uteri is another one that comes to mind..  Any cajun dishes with Uteri?

←

I see vats of uteri at the chinese market...I always wonder what to do with it...not that I personally would do anything with it, but if you were so inclined, what would you make?

As for the duck tongues, just as an interesting aside, I have a friend who is a duck farmer and he tells me that he makes the bulk of his income from the tongues and the unhatched eggs. The meat itself doesn't bring in as much cash. Hmmmm. Then why is it so expensive?

[Chris Amirault]

Daniel, whatever you do, keep that camera handy, ok?

[little ms foodie]

My two favorite preparations for duck tongue have been in a ceviche and also the duck tongue vinaigrette with mushrooms and 3 minute egg at Babbo

[PCL]

Daniel, you might want to ask this question in the Chinese food forum, or the elsewhere in Asia Pacific forum.

As you mentioned in your thread starter, sichuan is one way, but there are other regional Chinese options which may 'hit the spot'. I can think of soy/oyster sauce braised tongue (teochew style) and a cold pickled salad version, sometimes served at dim sum.

[Daniel]

Ok.. Thanks for your help.. This dish came out really good...

Since for dinner tonight we are using the hot pot I bought in Chinatown today I have the stock simmering on the stove.. I placed the duck tongues in here for a little bit..

here is a better picture of the spicy broth I am making..

Took the tongues out and fried in duck fat..

Added the bean paste, the chili paste, the fermented beans pepper corns, soy sauce and leeks.. Came out really good..

twice cooked duck tongue.. Thanks for the suggestions

Edited November 9, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Great snaps, Daniel. What is the texture like?

[Daniel]

The texture at that point was a little chewy.. The meat was tight around the cartiledge and tasted like chewy duck bone meat..

I also left some of the duck meat in the hotpot and let it cook for a couple of hours... The meat just melted when I ate it in the broth.. I prefer it much better that way.. It was like marrow, super soft, melt in your mouth ducky goodness..

Edited November 9, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[snowangel]

Did you have any leftovers of the tongue? If so, I wonder what a long slow re-heat would do to them?

I see duck tongue frequently at the Asian market. Just may have to get some!

[Daniel]

I had no left overs.. I only bought a half a pound.. So I made the first dish and put the rest in the hot pot..

[hzrt8w]

I have a few suggestions for cooking duck tongue Chinese style:

1. Duck tongue braised with "master sauce". You can mix the "master sauce" using dark soy sauce, rock sugar, five spices and ginger or use a mix like what I used for beef shank:

See: Beef Shank Braised with Five Spice and Soy Sauce (五香牛腱)

As a standard technique for making "red cook" or "braised with master sauce" dishes, we first boil the meat (duck tongue in this case) with water and (optional) some ginger slices. Then drain and run cold water over the meat to rinse. This step usually would get rid of the blood, impurity and unwanted odor from the meat. Then take the meat and boil with the master sauce, followed by a couple of hours of simmering (duration depends on meat used).

2. Hot chili duck tongue (Taiwanese style). See this page (scroll to the bottom for the English version):

http://www.coreasia.com.tw/labors/laborcenter/eat11.asp

3. 花彫醉鴨舌 Marinated Duck Tongue with Hua Daio

Hua Daio is a kind of Chinese wine. I heard of this dish title but don't know exactly how it is prepared. I suspect duck tongues are first boiled, rinsed, then marinated with Hua Daio wine and perhaps some other seasonings.

4. Stir-fried with chili, garlic and ginger, per this recipe:

http://www.am1470.com/pdf/100.pdf

The recipe is in Chinese. Let me roughly translate it as follows:

Ingredients:

1. ~1 lb of duck tongue

2. 5 to 6 sliver of ginger

3. 5 to 6 cloves of garlic

4. fresh chili (to taste)

5. Asian basil

Sauces:

black sesame oil, cooking wine, dark soy sauce

Cooking instructions:

1. Boil the duck tongue in water, rinse and drain

2. Use a wok/pan, add 2 tblsp black sesame oil, add ginger, garlic and chili, add duck tongues. Stir. Add cooking wine and dark soy sauce. A little bit of water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until the sauce dries up. Before serving, add the fresh Asian basil.

[annachan]

I have a large bowl of blanched, deboned duck tongues in the fridge. My original plan was to marinate and then fry. I'm still going to do that but I don't think I'll be able to consume them all in one seating.

So, I want to save half and do something else with them. I'm think maybe pickle. Anyone try pickling them before? Open to other ideas as well.

[Kent Wang]

You're deep-frying them?

In China, we usually either steam or boil them plain, or in a "red sauce" which is soy sauce, some sugar, and a bit of star anise if you feel like it. Once cooked they'll last for a couple of days.

I've never seen pickled ones before, but it sounds interesting. I've never seen deboned duck tongues before either.

[annachan]

I was going to boil them, with Chinese marinate. However, that means I'll have to eat them all by myself. I'm trying to get hubby to try them. That is also why I deboned them and will fry them. Frying got him to try and like pig ears, so I thought it may be the way to go.

As for the pickling, I'm thinking along the line of pickled chicken feet. Vinegary and spicy. Wonder how long that would last in the fridge though.

[judiu]

Maybe treat them to an anchovy-like flavour profile? Fish sauce, lots of salty soy, capers, preserved lemon, thingd like that? HTH!