A Singaporean Mum

The last time I cooked Teochew braised duck was back in China — and that was before I owned an Instant Pot. It took ages! Cooking a whole duck was another challenge altogether… None of my pots were big enough, so I ended up cutting the duck in half just to make it work.

Fast forward to now, and the Instant Pot has completely changed the game. The cooking time is cut by half, and it’s truly a throw-everything-into-the-pot-and-press-a-button kind of dish. I made it even easier by using duck breast and duck legs instead of a whole duck — perfect fit, zero stress. Best of all? It turned out so good that even my husband was impressed.

Here’s how I do it!

Ingredients

2 duck legs whole, 250g each

1 duck breast, 400g

1 pack tofu puffs (10 pcs)

4 Hard boiled eggs

Aromatics and Spices:

8-10 cloves garlic

4 slices galangal

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

½ tsp coriander seeds

¼ tsp white peppercorns

Sauce Base:

800ml water

3 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp rice wine

1 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Load the Pot

• In a strainer, add star anise, cinnamon, coriander seeds, white peppercorns, garlic, and galangal.

• Pour in water.

• Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine, and sugar.

• Place the duck thighs and duck breast skin-side down into the Instant Pot.

• Make sure the duck is submerged. If not, add a little more water.

2. Pressure Cook

• Close the lid. Turn the valve to Sealing.

• Select Pressure Cook → Low → 45 minutes.

• When cooking ends, leave the Instant Pot alone for 10 minutes.

• After 10 minutes, carefully turn valve to Venting to release remaining pressure.

3. Cook Taupok and Hard Boiled Eggs

• Remove the duck.

• Turn on Sauté (low).

• Simmer tofu puffs and cooked hard boiled eggs in sauce for 20-30 minutes and to deepen flavour.

4. Slice & Serve

• Serve over white rice.

• Spoon sauce over generously.