Lemongrass

INGREDIENTS: (Serves two)

FOR THE DUCK
1 boneless duck breast, 12-16 ounces (350-500g)
2 stalks fresh lemongrass
Salt
1/2 of a lime
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
Sriracha sauce or similar Vietnamese hot sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil

FOR THE RICE
1/4 of a Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 stalks fresh lemongrass
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 cup basmati rice
1 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon Vietnamese lemongrass sauce (Nuoc Uop Gia Vi Xa, optional)
Salt
Chopped cilantro for garnish

PROCEDURE:

1. Trim the thick layer of skin and fat from the duck breast and discard it (or render the fat and save it as a wonderful, if dangerously unhealthy, sauteeing medium). Cut the lean meat into chopsticks-size bites.

2. Peel the tough outer skin from two stalks of lemongrass, and cut the tender white portion into very thin slices. Mash them in a mortar and pestle with a little salt and fresh lime juice until they form a paste. Stir in the rest of the juice of your half-lime, the soy sauce, nam pla and hot sauce to taste, and use this combination to marinate the duck for 30 minutes or so, while you make the rice.

3. Peel the onion and cut it into thin strands. Peel the tough outer skin from two more stalks of lemongrass, but leave them whole. Whack them a couple of times with the side of a chef's knife or cleaver, a procedure that seems to help release some of their aromatic juices. Proceed as if you were making a pilaf: Heat the peanut oil in a saucepan until it sizzles, then put in the onions and the pieces of lemongrass and stir-fry until the onions are translucent but not yet browning and the lemongrass is aromatic. Stir in the rice and cook for a moment or two, then add the broth, the optional lemongrass sauce, and salt to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover tightly, and simmer until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid. Discard the lemongrass pieces and keep the rice warm.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a skillet or wok and stir-fry the duck pieces, with their marinade, until they are just cooked through. Serve atop the rice in a large bowl, garnished with chopped cilantro.

WINE MATCH: Normally I like a dry, earthy red wine with duck, perhaps a Burgundy, Rhone red or Northern Italian red. The lemongrass and citrus characters of this dish, though, seemed to call for a dry but full-bodied white, and a Northeastern Italian white blend from the Veneto - a Masi 2001 Garganega-Sauvignon Blanc blend - went very well.