Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing

This Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing is such an easy recipe! We use a small cheat here, by getting a pack of Chinese Duck Pancakes including the half duck we just need to heat up. This gives a super crispy, perfectly seasoned duck, without all the hassle. After that, it’s a little chopping of crunchy cucumber, spring onions, carrots, and peppers. And some quick destoning and boiling plums with very few extra ingredients, to make a fabulous and very low calorie dressing. More griddled plums go on the salad too, for an extra fruity kick.

Why You Want to Make This

Another name for this Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing would be “deconstructed Duck Pancakes”, but I figured this sounds trickier than it is really.

Not sure about you, but I absolutely adore the super thin pancakes filled with duck, some crunchy veg and hoisin sauce. Always did. But for weight loss…maybe not so much.
The fatty meat to veggie ratio isn’t particularly in my favour here, plus I find the hoisin sauce just too sweet.
So, what to do with the addiction while looking for healthier alternatives and trying to lose weight? Transform it into a salad of course!

I used M&S “Crispy Aromatic half Duck” as a starting point.
There are versions of this available in many supermarkets these days. I’ve had some from Tesco too.

I’m adding more plants as very first step. Carrots and fresh red peppers go great with the classic cucumber and spring onions and obviously a bed of lovely baby leaves can’t be wrong either.

What with the Hoisin sauce? I’ve put the little packs aside for another time and grabbed 2 packs of fresh in season plums. One half for the sauce, which gets cooked until the plums get very soft. A little honey for sweetness, balsamic (or, if you have it, Black Rice Vinegar), some soy or Tamari for the Asian kick, a bit of Chinese 5 spice, star anise, which goes great with plums and a touch of sesame oil for the healthy fats.

And the Pancakes? Get fried super crispy in some oil.

The Process

This is so quick, I feel it barely warrants instructions.

Roast your duck (maybe get 2 halves if you are feeding guests.) according to packet instructions.

Meanwhile, destone all your plums. Take 250g (roughly half a packet of those you get in most supermarkets) of your plums and cut into pieces. Add to a small saucepan, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and your star anise, just to start the cooking process and let them bubble away on medium heat until really soft. Add Balsamic (or Black Rice Vinegar), soy or tamari sauce, honey, Chinese 5 spice and stir for a moment so the strong vinegar can mellow a little.

Switch your hob off and let it come to room temperature, while you chop your veggies.

Julienne (or slice, if you feel julienning is a bit of a hassle) the cucumbers, carrots, peppers, and spring onions. Wash the baby leaves.

If you have a griddle pan, spray it well with some olive oil and griddle the rest of your plum halves until they have pretty marks. Alternatively, you could just fry them. Or even add them fresh, in slices. They will still be delicious.

Once your sauce is a little cooler, take out the star anise (please don’t puree this, as it will be far too strong!) and either pour everything in your blender or puree with a hand blender, until you have a smooth sauce. Give it a taste and adjust your seasoning to your taste. Remember it should be fairly intense, so it can stand up to the salad and duck. You’ll want to eat it with a spoon at this spoint, it’s so delicious.

In a small pan, add some oil so it covers the bottom. Heat it at medium-high heat and add one pancake after the other, keeping a very close eye on them. They will start blistering very quickly and once you see a golden brown edge showing up, flip them and briefly fry the other side until golden and crisp. This just takes minutes. Do not walk away or you’ll have black pancakes.

Let them drain on a plate lines with paper towel and sprinkle with a little flaky salt. Try one. Decide this was a great idea and snack on them while frying the rest. A little chopped Rosemary if you have some around would also be great but isn’t mandatory.

Now it’s time to assemble your Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing. When your duck is done and crispy, take it out of the oven (keep warm on low heat, if the salad took you longer), take off the skin first and remove the soft fat underneath. Strip the meat with a fork, it should be very tender now and slice the skin into bite sized pieces to sprinkle over.

Lay a bed of greens on your plate and drape the veggies and duck on top for an impressive salad. Drizzle with the plum sauce and serve the crispy pancakes either on the side or crumbled over. Expect appreciative purring noises from everyone around you, while they enjoy the salad.

Meal Prep

As usual, I prepare a big salad for my week by storing each ingredient for this Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing in a separate glass container in my fridge. Except the pancakes, they stay outside, to remain crisp. If you have a container with tight fitting lid, they will remain crispy for a few days.
When you are ready to serve, heat the duck, ideally in the oven or air fryer, so the skin can re-crisp and assemble.
If you are tired of salad, you could also roll all of this into a large wrap and munch happily for lunch.

Looking for a dessert that is equally impressive and easy? How about the Protein Creme Brulee? Or, going with the Plum season theme, maybe a German Plum Streusel Cake?

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot. 🙂

Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing

This Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing is such an easy recipe! We use a small cheat here, by getting a pack of Chinese Duck Pancakes including the half duck we just need to heat up. This gives a super crispy, perfectly seasoned duck, without all the hassle. After that, it’s a little chopping of crunchy cucumber, spring onions, carrots, and peppers. And some quick destoning and boiling plums with very few extra ingredients, to make a fabulous and very low calorie dressing. More griddled plums go on the salad too, for an extra fruity kick.

5 from 15 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine Fusion

Servings 6

Calories 475 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1-2 packs of ½ duck with Pancakes depending on how much meat you like
• 1 cucumber
• 1 bunch spring onions
• 3 carrots
• 2 bell or Romano peppers
• 1 bag baby leaves washed
• 500 g about 2 packs plums
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp Tamari or Soy sauce
• 1 star anise
• 0.5 tsp Chinese 5 spice
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar or black rice vinegar
• Olive oil for frying

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven and follow the instructions on the packaging to roast the duck halves until they are crispy and fully cooked. You may need 1-2 halves depending on the number of servings.
• While the duck is roasting, destone all the plums. Take 250g (about half a packet) of plums and cut them into pieces.
• In a small saucepan, add the plum pieces, 2-3 tablespoons of water, and the star anise.
• Cook the plums on medium heat until they become soft.
• Add balsamic vinegar (or black rice vinegar), soy or tamari sauce, honey, and Chinese 5 spice, and stir for a moment to mellow the flavours.
• Remove the star anise and let the sauce come to room temperature.
• Julienne (or slice) the cucumbers, carrots, peppers, and spring onions.
• Wash the baby leaves.
• If you have a griddle pan, spray it with olive oil and griddle the remaining plum halves until they have pretty marks. Alternatively, you can fry them or add them fresh in slices. They will still be delicious.
• In a small pan, add some oil to cover the bottom.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat and add one pancake after the other. Keep a close eye on them as they will blister quickly.
• Once you see a golden brown edge, flip them, and briefly fry the other side until golden and crisp. This takes only minutes, so don't walk away or they'll burn.
• Let the fried pancakes drain on a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little flaky salt. You can also add chopped rosemary if desired.
• When your duck is done and crispy, take it out of the oven.
• Take off the skin and remove soft fat underneath. Strip the meat with a fork; it should be very tender. Slice the duck skin into bite-sized pieces
• Lay a bed of baby leaves on your serving plates. Arrange the julienned vegetables and shredded duck and duck skin on top for an impressive salad. Drizzle the plum sauce over the salad.
• Serve the crispy pancakes either on the side or crumbled over the salad.

Notes

Meal Prep

As usual, I prepare a big salad for my week by storing each ingredient in a separate glass container in my fridge. Except the pancakes, they stay outside, to remain crisp. If you have a container with tight fitting lid, they will remain crispy for a few days.
When you are ready to serve, heat the duck, ideally in the oven or air fryer, so the skin can re-crisp and assemble.
If you are tired of salad, you could also roll all of this into a large wrap and munch happily for lunch.

Calories: Approximately 450-500 calories
Fat: Approximately 18-20 grams
Protein: Approximately 15-18 grams
Carbohydrates: Approximately 55-65 grams
Sugar: Approximately 20-25 grams

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcal

Nutrition Facts

Chinese Duck Pancake Salad with Plum Dressing

Amount per Serving

Calories

475

% Daily Value*

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword Easy, For Guests, Healthy, High Fibre, Protein

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