Description
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.
Ingredients
- 1-2 packs of 1/2 duck with Pancakes (depending on how much meat you like)
- 1 cucumber
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 3 carrots
- 2 Romano peppers (or red bell peppers)
- 1 bag baby leaves (washed)
- 1 lb 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
Cook your duck halves
- 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.
Prepare the Plum Dressing
- 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.
- In a high speed or bullet blender (make sure it’s cool if using a bullet blender) bolend your sauce until smooth.
Prepare the salad ingredients
- 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.
Deep fry pancakes
- 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.
Assemble
- 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
The equipment section may contain affiliate links to products I know and love.
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.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Main Course, Salad
- Method: Blender/Oven
- Cuisine: Fusion
Nutrition
- Calories: 608
- Sugar: 14
- Sodium: 310
- Fat: 52
- Saturated Fat: 17
- Carbohydrates: 20
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 18
- Cholesterol: 97
