Vietnamese Duck Curry (Cà Ri Vit)

a unique curry dish, in a style of its own!

Mar 23, 2026

recently, we reconnected with friends from Eminami to recreate a specialty dish from their menu - one which also holds a special significance to the husband-and-wife restaurateur team who owns the halal Vietnamese restaurant business.

for those who follow our social media channels closely, you might remember Eminami from two of our previous videos with them, one where Emina shared her recipe for Banh Xeo, the first menu item she started with in her home-based food business in Singapore. 3 years ago, she also walked us through with cooking the same Duck Curry recipe - albeit we didn’t share the recipe for it at that time!

while Chef Emina’s EXACT Duck Curry recipe is a closely guarded recipe, our in-house chef Azfar formed a version of the Duck Curry recipe according to his memory of learning from Chef Emina!

this amazing Vietnamese Duck Curry a.k.a. Cà Ri Vit is a specialty of Hoi An and its surrounding region in Central Vietnam where duck is a common feature in the cuisine. while it may look like a typical Singaporean/Malaysian style poultry curry at first sight, the Cà Ri Vit is quite distinct in which coconut water is used. the ingredient not only gives a balanced sweetness to the dish but also acts as a natural tenderiser to break down the duck meat.

as compared to South Asian / Southeast Asian style curries, Cà Ri Vit is also milder in heat and noticeably richer and creamier form the coconut milk.

@nomies.co actually getting a wife isnt hard you just need to be loyal, dedicated, hardworking and good with google translate 🥰 #vietnamesefood #halalfood #duck @Eminami Official ✅️

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Vietnamese Duck Curry (Cà Ri Vit)

(serves 3-5)

4 whole duck legs, cleaned and cut into smaller pieces
1/4 cup oil
600ml fresh coconut water (or boxed)
1/2 medium-sized yam, peeled and cubed
300g orange sweet potato, peeled & cubed
1 carrot, cubed
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp mushroom seasoning
1 cup coconut milk
salt, to taste
3 sprigs spring onion, sliced

marinade:
6 shallots, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 stalks lemongrass, cut
1.5 tbsp yellow curry powder
1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
10g annatto powder (optional)
1 tbsp fish sauce

1 baguette, sliced & toasted

directions

in a food processor or chopper, mince the shallots, garlic and lemongrass until it becomes a coarse paste.
in a bowl, combine the duck pieces with the paste, curry powder, black pepper, annatto and fish sauce. toss everything together evenly, massaging all the seasoning into the duck meat. cover with a cling wrap and let the the duck marinade for at least 2 hours to overnight. let the duck come to room temperature again before cooking.
in a pot on medium heat, heat oil. add in the marinated duck and sear for 6-8 minutes lightly until fat gets rendered out and the spices become aromatic, tossing occasionally.
then, pour in the coconut water and bring it to a boil. lower the heat, cover the pot with lid and simmer for 45 mins to 1 hour or until duck becomes fork tender.
add in the cubed taro, sweet potato and carrots along with fish sauce and seasoning. stir well, cover and let the vegetables soften. lastly, add coconut milk and simmer for another 3 minutes. the curry should be a nice & thick consistency.
serve curry with a sprinkle of spring onion slices and bread on the side.