Oriental Duck Salad

May is a pretty good month for holidays here in Berlin. It is just a shame that they happen to fall mid-week and not organised to fall on a Monday. But even though May has three public holidays I have learned not to complain too much! We do have to wait until October for our next holiday after all…

This is not stopping me from having that Friday feeling though! Yesterday may have been a holiday and I am only in the office one day, but there is still cause for celebration for the upcoming weekend! I will probably be spending it enjoying the sunshine and cooking – catching up on blog posts and deadlines that I have fallen behind with this past week…!

I find that Friday evening food has to be reasonably quick but also something a little more exciting than our weekday meals. It is Friday after all! I often cook some form of Asian food which is packed full of flavour. This is one of my favourite cuisines and I am a real local at my nearby Asian store (that luckily happens to be close to my work and my apartment).

I was however a little adventurous the other week with the fresh chillies which resulted in an incredibly spicy duck salad. I love my spicy food but it did end with my boyfriend and I downing glasses of milk! I have now learnt my lesson and calmed down on those fresh chillies!

I am careful not to eat duck too often as it is quite fatty. But this oriental duck salad is light that you can still enjoy the duck as part of Friday treat! It is super easy to make and tastes delicious!

Happy Friday and have a good weekend!

Ingredients:

For the salad:

Pak Choi (roughly chopped)

Fresh coriander

Handful of spring onions (finely chopped)

2 carrots (ends chopped and peeled)

handful of sesame seeds

handful of bean sprouts

2 small red chillies (finely chopped)

For the duck:

2 duck breasts

2 tbpsn hoisin sauce

1 tbspn groundnut oil

For the salad dressing:

2 tbpsn dark soy sauce

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

juice of 1 lime

2 tspn red curry paste

• Heat a medium size frying pan with the oil. Rub the hoisin sauce onto the duck breasts and place then duck into the pan. Cook on the skin side down for around 6-7 minutes. Then cooking on the other side for around another 6 minutes so that the outside is lightly crisp and the inside is pink. If you like it well done then cook for around 4 minutes. 
• To prepare the dressing: Mix everything together in a small bowl and place to one side until later.
• Grate the carrots into a large mixing bowl so that you have loads of shreds of carrot. Add the spring onions and chillies.
• Heat a small frying pan with 1 tspn soy sauce. Add the bean sprouts and pak choi and cook for around 3 -4 minutes. Then add them to the mixing bowl with carrots. Mix in a large handful of fresh coriander and a bit of black pepper.
• Once the duck is done take it to a chopping board and slice up.Scatter a few sesame seeds on top.
• Add the dressing to the salad and mix well. Plate up the salad and then lay the duck slices on top. Garnish with more fresh coriander if needed.