Zab-E-Lee Thai & Sushi Restaurant, 4837 Old National Highway, College Park, 404-477-2987, www.zab-e-lee.biz/home.htm
Q: I am an airline pilot and a lover of roast duck. I have eaten duck in many places all over the world and have never eaten any more delicious than at Zab-E-Lee Thai Restaurant in College Park. Could you pry the recipe from it, along with the small dish of sauce served with it? — Paul E. Fontaine, Carrollton
A: The duck and the dipping sauce you so love is the creation of Bountam Southyvongnorath, the chef at Zab-E-Lee. The dish really doesn’t have a name, and the recipe has never been written before. But the chef faxed us the ingredients with approximate amounts. Our tester, Linda Hogue, took it from there, adapting for home cooks.
Zab-E-Lee Roast Duck
For the duck:
2 quarts water
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar or granulated sugar
1 tablespoon black bean sauce
1 stick cinnamon
5 star anise
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 slices galangal root or 1 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or cardamom
1 whole duck (about 5 pounds)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the sauce:
1 or 2 tablespoons soy sauce, to taste
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 or 2 chopped Thai chile peppers, to taste
In a Dutch oven, bring water to a boil and add soy sauce, sugar, bean sauce, cinnamon stick, star anise, black pepper and galangal. Cover and boil on low heat for 10 minutes. Place duck in pot, cover and boil 15 minutes.
Remove duck to a plate and refrigerate to dry out for 6 to 8 hours.
Continue to simmer liquid uncovered for 30 minutes to reduce for sauce.
Strain liquid in a colander placed over a bowl. Discard seasonings left in colander. Refrigerate liquid until ready to make sauce.
When ready to roast the duck, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 9-by-13-inch baking pan by lining with foil, if desired. Place duck in pan. Insert meat thermometer if using, into flesh, not bone. Roast for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix honey and oil, then baste duck with the mixture after 40 minutes. Return duck to oven and roast 15 minutes more until meat thermometer reads 180 degrees and duck is golden brown.
To make the sauce: Skim fat from top of the reduced liquid and discard. Place remaining liquid in a large saucepan over high heat. Add soy sauce, lime juice, garlic and chile peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Taste for additional seasonings, if desired. Makes 4 servings and 5 1/2 cups of sauce.
Per serving: 662 calories, 52 grams fat (percent calories from fat, 70), 34 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 143 milligrams cholesterol, 1,128 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.
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