Adobong Puti (White Adobo with Duck)

Serves 4 - 6

PUTI MEANS "WHITE," and basic white adobo is usually one made without soy sauce, which gives it a lighter color and flavor, making it a close cousin to paksiw. The recipe is inspired by our friend Nyle, whose family is from the Visayan region of Samar. But there's a similar version that comes from the southern region of Mindanao. This recipe is one of the few in the Philippines to use ingredients like clove, cinnamon, and star anise. Duck is a fatty, deeply flavored meat, and its richness is delicious slow-cooked with vinegar and these aromatic spices.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil

  • 6 bone-in, skin-on duck legs

  • 10 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife

  • 15 whole black peppercorns

  • 2 cinnamon sticks

  • 3 star anise pods

  • 5 whole cloves

  • 5 bay leaves

  • 1 cup (240 ml) white sugarcane vinegar

  • 2 cups (480 ml) chicken stock

  • 4 to 6 cups (800 g to 1.2 kg) cooked white rice for serving

Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed deep-sided pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the duck legs and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.

  2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring continuously, until the garlic turns golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to let it burn.

  3. Add the peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, bay leaves, vinegar, and stock, then return the duck legs to the pot. Bring the liquid to a low boil, then immediately reduce the heat so that the duck cooks at a simmer. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until the duck legs are fork-tender, then increase the heat to medium-high. Let the liquid bubble away and reduce; when the liquid has fully reduced and the duck legs start to fry in their own fat, turn off the heat.

  4. Serve hot, with plenty of rice.

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