How to make braised duck wings & gizzard

Growing up in a Teochew family, braised meats made a frequent appearance at our dinner table. My favourite was braised duck wings with gizzard.

My late father learnt to cook the dish from his mother. Her method of braising was to caramelise sugar and fry the meat in the caramel.

My father improvised on her recipe by adding fresh coriander and spring onion. Every time he braised chicken, duck or pork, he would save the braising liquid, simmer it to a concentrated reduction and store this in the freezer.

The next time he wanted to braise any meat, instead of caramelising sugar, he would defrost the braising liquid and use it as a base to cook the meat.

If you plan to use this method, you have to blanch the meat first to get rid of the blood water.

For duck wings, the braising time depends on the level of tenderness you like the meat to be.

If you like the point of tenderness where the meat falls off the bone, cook the wings for a longer period of time. The cooking time in my recipe renders duck wings cooked to the point where the meat is tender but the bones are still held firmly together.

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg duck wings
• 6 duck gizzards
• 60g sugar
• 4 small pieces of rock sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 5 cloves
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 head of garlic cloves
• 30g smashed ginger
• 30g coriander
• 100g spring onion
• 2 litres of water
• 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp salt

METHOD

TNP PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

1. Heat a frying pan. Place the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves and black peppercorns in the pan. Fry until the spices are fragrant. Set aside. 

2. In a clean sturdy pot with a flat base, heat the 60g sugar over low heat until it begins to caramelise.

3. Add the duck wings and stir-fry them until they are coated with the caramel.

4. Add the duck gizzards.

TNP PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

5. Add the ginger and garlic.

6. Add the toasted cinnamon, star anise, cloves and black peppercorns.

7. Add the water.

8. Add the spring onion and coriander.

TNP PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

9. Add the rock sugar, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and salt.

10. Bring to a boil, then boil uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat.

11. Cover the pot, turn off the heat and allow to cook in the residual heat for an hour. Adjust the taste with more light soy sauce or salt if needed.

12. Remove the wings and the gizzards. Slice the gizzards. Drizzle on the gravy and serve.