Vietnamese Grilled Duck Salad With Cucumber, Radishes and Peanuts
Updated August 13, 2015
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 40 minutes, plus marinating
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
½ cup soy sauce
3 limes
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons toasted (Asian) sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 duck breast halves 2 ½ pounds, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce
3 small jalapeños, seeded
¼ cup extra-virgin olive or peanut oil
Kosher salt
black pepper
1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
⅓ pound radishes, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
¼ cup chopped mint, plus more for garnish
⅓ cup chopped salted roasted peanuts
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
20 grams carbs; 128 milligrams cholesterol; 494 calories; 12 grams monosaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 29 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 2128 milligrams sodium; 41 grams protein; 6 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Whisk together ¼ cup soy sauce, juice and zest of 1 lime, ginger, and sesame oil. Mash half the garlic into a paste and whisk it into this marinade. Trim away the duck skin and most of the fat (reserve for rendering, if you like). Place the duck in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over it, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 12 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.
- Step 2
In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup soy sauce, vinegar, juice of 2 limes, fish sauce, 2 jalapeños (finely chopped) and oil. Mash the remaining garlic to a paste and whisk into this vinaigrette.
- Step 3
Light a grill for high indirect heat (or heat a broiler with a rack 8 inches from the heat). Remove the duck from the marinade, scraping off any excess bits, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer duck to the unlighted portion of the grill; close cover and cook to desired doneness, 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. (If broiling, place duck on a baking sheet. Broil, turning once halfway through, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.) Transfer to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice against the grain.
- Step 4
In a large bowl, toss together cucumber, carrots, radishes, cilantro, mint and 1 jalapeño (thinly sliced), with just enough of the vinaigrette to lightly coat everything. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Toss in the peanuts. Place salad on a large platter and top with sliced meat. Drizzle with more of the vinaigrette, and sprinkle with cilantro and mint.
Private Notes
Comments
I haven't cooked the duck part of this, but I make the rest of the salad to go with other dishes all the time and it's wonderful. I like adding shredded cabbage too.
I made this with flank steak and it was OUTSTANDING!
Many of the comments above are spot on. The dressing needs something sweet for balance. I used a half tablespoon of brown sugar but honey would work well too. LOVE the suggestions to add shredded red cabbage. Why not? OK, my wife HATES when people dramatically alter these recipes, BUT, I’m a sucker for the crispy skin, pan seared breast, the low and slow technique from a heavy-bottom skillet that is room temp. So, I marinated the duck meat side down (in the marinade from this recipe) but left the skin dry and marinade-free. I cooked the duck in the traditional way, scoring the fat, which afforded a rendering into a crispy cap, and then flipped it for a 3 minute finish on the meaty side. I let it sit for five minutes and then sliced it. OMFG. Served alongside this salad! Money. And, I couldn’t resist taking the rendered duck fat, tossing it with some halved fingerling potatoes (found them in the pantry), kosher salt, pepper, and air frying for 12 minutes at 400. Yup, winner winner, crispy Vietnamese duck salad dinner!
Maybe it’s obvious that it goes in the vinaigrette, but the recipe should say what to do with the olive or peanut oil. It does not.
Fantastic flavors . A total winner. I marinated a whole duck and a breast 2 days before cooking and refrigerated naked, unwrapped, to dry the skin before cooking. Let it come to room temperature before cooking . Oven heated to 325, duck on rack breast side up 20 minutes, flipped breast side down 20 minutes, then flip breast side up 20 minutes. While it is resting scored the duck breast and seared for a good five minutes on a hot cast iron pan, then put it in the oven at 350 until the thermometer read 145. Added the remaining sauce to cilantro and mint and served all the sliced duck on top. Enough for 7 adults. Very excited and rave reviews all around. Memorable.
I made this last night and we love loved it. I used chopped romaine and shredded Napa cabbage with peanuts because that is what we had . After marinating the duck for 5 or 6 hours, I used a pan on the stove top, worked great. Oh my it was delicious. So good that I took the left over salad and dressing , added two poached eggs for breakfast. This is be a favorite in our house.I cannot wait to try it with flank steak.