Itek Tim (Salted Vegetables & Duck Soup)

My mum cooks this soup very well & my hubby loves this soup. Savoury, a little sourish & most appetising. Found a recipe for the soup from "Classic Nonya Dishes" by Patricia Lee (owner of Chilli Padi) & tried it last month. I followed the recipe & found that the soup was just not favourful eough so I made some adjustments to the recipe & the soup turned up close to my mum's cooking :)

Recipe for Itek Tim

(serves 4)

Ingredients

half a duck, chopped into pieces

2 litres of water

a packet of pickled mustard greens, 400g

(I bought a packet from NTUC, not too salty, so I just rinse & didn't soak.)

6 preserved salted plums

2 thumb-sized ginger, slightly smashed with chopper

4 pcs of assam skin

4 tomatoes, cut into halves

1 tsp white pepper seeds

1) Blanch duck in boiling water & drain.

2) Bring another 2 litres of water to boil. Add ginger, salted plums, asam skin & duck. Simmer over low heat for 45-60 mins.

3) Add pickled mustards green & cook till duck is soft & tender.

4) Add tomatoes & simmer for 5 mins.

5) Add additional seasoning of salt if necessary.

6) Serve hot.

* If you have a thermal pot, just put all ingredients together with water & bring to boil for 20 mins. Then place pot in thermal pot. Do this in the morning b4 leaving for work. And by the time u reach home, the pot of soup with tender duck meat is ready. Just heat up & serve.