Peking Duck with Asian-Style Cabbage Salad

Ingredients

• 500 g Chinese cabbage
• 2 carrots
• 1 ripe Avocado
• 0.25 Cucumber
• 3 sprigs Mint
• 4 sprigs coriander
• 1 sour apple (e.g., Granny Smith)
• 80 g Mung bean sprouts
• 1 green pepper (sliced)
• 100 g white beans (canned)
• 1 untreated lime (juice)
• 2 tbsp soy oil
• light soy sauce
• pepper (ground)
• potato starch
• 1 l peanut oil
• 1 duck (pre-cooked, about 2.5 kg)
• 3 cm fresh ginger
• 4 Spring Onions
• 2 tbsp five-spice mix (from Asian store)
• 65 g Sichuan peppercorns
• 25 g black peppercorns
• 3 tbsp cumin
• 200 g coarse salt

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash and pat the duck dry. Mix all ingredients for rubbing in a bowl. Rub the duck inside and out thoroughly. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 24 hours.

2. 2.

   Brush the duck with spices as well as possible. Peel and cut ginger into pieces. Wash, trim, and cut spring onions into ~3 cm lengths. Stuff the duck with ginger and spring onions and place on a heatproof plate. Fill a wok 5 cm high with water and add a suitable steamer insert. Bring water to boil, then set the duck with the plate onto the steamer insert. Cover the wok and steam the duck at low heat for 2 hours, skimming off fat as it runs out and adding more water if needed. Remove the duck from the wok and drain all liquid. Take out ginger and spring onions, then let the duck cool completely. It can be stored in the refrigerator.

3. 3.

   For the salad, separate cabbage leaves, wash, trim, pat dry, and cut into thin strips. Peel carrots and cut into fine sticks. Halve avocado, remove pit, gently squeeze flesh from shell and slice into strips. Wash cucumber, halve, deseed, and cut into long thin slices. Rinse mint and coriander, shake dry, and pluck leaves. Wash apple, quarter, remove core, and slice into thin strips. Briefly rinse mung bean sprouts over a sieve with boiling water, shock in cold water, and drain. Mix cabbage, carrots, apple, pepper, avocado, cucumber, drained beans, lime juice, and oil; season with soy sauce and pepper.

4. 4.

   Cut the duck into quarters and coat in potato starch. Heat peanut oil in a wok or deep fryer. When oil smokes, fry duck portions until crispy. Brown breasts for about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Then use a fork to loosen meat from bones and slice thinly. Season salad, plate with duck slices, and serve.