8Add Chinese 5 spice, sea salt, bay leaf, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and hoisin sauce to the bowl.
9Mix the ingredients to combine and form the marinade.
10Place the duck legs in the bowl with the marinade.
11Cover the duck legs with marinade and massage it in.
12Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave the duck legs to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
13To make the glaze, add dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, mirin, sake, hoisin sauce, and honey to a pot.
14Cut the lemongrass.
15Pound the lemongrass and ginger in a mortar and pestle.
16Add the pounded lemongrass and ginger to a cheesecloth and squeeze out the juices into the pot with the glaze ingredients.
17Mix the glaze ingredients and simmer to thicken, then set aside.
18Remove the marinated duck legs from the refrigerator.
19Add the duck legs to a pan with the marinade.
20Cover the duck with chicken stock and add coriander seeds.
21Leave the duck to simmer gently with the lid on for 2-3 hours.
22Cut the watermelon into cubes.
23Wash and separate the bok choy leaves.
24Thinly shave the mooli.
25In a bowl, combine microgreens and bean sprouts.
26Dress the microgreens with a little duck glaze.
27Remove the cooked duck legs from the pan.
28Shred half of the duck meat and add it to a bowl.
29Lightly cover the shredded duck with cornstarch.
30Heat neutral oil to 350°F (175°C) in a pan.
31Shake off excess cornstarch from the shredded duck and lower half of it into the hot oil.
32Cook until golden and crisp, then remove and place on a cooling rack to drain.
33Add some of the frying oil to a pan and shallow fry the other half of the duck for a couple of minutes on medium-high heat to create a tender texture.
34Add the crispy duck to the same pan and pour all the sauce over it.
35Mix the duck thoroughly with the sauce for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat.
36Plate up with a base of thinly shaved mooli, dressed with a quick vinaigrette (olive oil, sea salt, pepper, Dijon, honey, red vinegar).
37Add watermelon cubes on top of the mooli.
38Add the dressed microgreen salad on top of the watermelon.
39Add a mountain of the sauced duck on top of the salad.
40Sprinkle with sesame seeds and toasted cashews.
41Garnish with additional spring onion and chili, and pomegranate if desired.
Ingredients
x duck legs
1 finely diced knob ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
4 diced spring onions
1 bunch coriander stems
2 x star anise
1.5 tbsp Chinese 5 spice
a pinch sea salt
1 x bay leaf
2 tbsp light soy
2 tbsp dark soy
2 tbsp hoisin
50 ml dark soy
50 ml light soy
75 ml mirin
25 ml sake
75 ml hoisin
2 tbsp honey
1 x lemongrass
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
a cup chicken stock
1 tbsp coriander seed
1 x mooli
1 a bunch microgreens
a handful bean sprouts
1 x watermelon
a handful sesame seeds
a handful cashew nuts
2 tbsp cornstarch
a cup neutral oil
a drizzle olive oil
a pinch Dijon
a splash red vinegar
a handful pomegranate
Equipment
cutting boardknifelarge bowlplastic wraprefrigeratorpotmortar and pestlecheeseclothsmall bowlspoontongspanslotted spoontray
Tips
This recipe creates two different textures of duck for the salad: some ultra-crisp and some tender.
Pomegranate is an optional garnish.
The crispy spiced duck adds an unbelievable crunch and is difficult to stop eating!