Nick Coffer’s Weekend Recipe

Vietnamese Duck Salad

Serves 4 people

I used to live in East London and we had some wonderful Vietnamese restaurants there. I fell in love with this cuisine. It’s often light, fragrant, crunchy and healthy. And those four words perfectly describe this duck salad. The star here is the dressing, which is so versatile. It was made for my show by Anne Harvey, who launched her catering and cookery course company, Taste of Vietnam, in St Albans to showcase all that is great about her country’s food. This is simple food, executed to perfection.

Ingredients 1. Bruise the ginger with a meat tenderiser or rolling 2 duck breasts pin. The ginger should remain in one piece. 1 onion 2. Place the duck breasts in a saucepan and cover it 1/2 red cabbage (shredded) with boiling water. 2 green mangos (peeled and julienned) 3. Add the ginger, 2 shallots and a pinch of salt to the 2 carrots (peeled and julienned) pan. Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes on 15 mint leaves (roughly sliced) a medium heat. 10g piece of ginger 4. Take the duck out, leave it to rest and thinly slice it 2 shallots just before serving it. 5. While waiting for the duck to be poached, prepare For the dressing: the sauce. 1 tbsp fish sauce 6. In a small bowl, add the fish sauce, lime or lemon 1 tbsp lemon/ lime juice juice, sugar and hot water. Mix well until the sugar 1/2 tbsp sugar has dissolved. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli. 2 tbsp hot water 7. In a mixing bowl, combine the mango, carrot, red 1 tsp garlic (finely chopped) cabbage and mint. Add a tablespoon of dressing 1 tsp chilli (finely chopped) and toss well. 1 tsp ginger (finely chopped or grated) 8. Transfer to a plate, add the duck breast slices on 1 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts the top, and garnish with crushed peanuts and more of the dressing. (NOTE: Duck breast can be replaced here with chicken breast or tiger prawns.)

Hear wonderful recipes on Nick Coffer’s Weekend Kitchen every Sunday morning on BBC Three Counties radio at 11am. You can also join Nick every weekday afternoon at midday for brilliant local guests with great stories to tell and all the music you want for your early afternoon.

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