Roast Duck, Caramelised Grapefruit and Wombok Salad
Salt, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami. All of the main flavours packed into this Asian inspired wombok salad. You simply can’t go wrong with a juicy roast duck topped with wheels of sweetened ruby red grapefruit.
Buy a whole roast duck from your Chinese restaurant. Tell them not to cut it up and leave it whole. Ensure they include the roast duck sauce. Shred the roast duck. Discard skin, fat and bones. In a medium sized mixing bowl, marinate the shredded flesh with the roast duck sauce. Season with pepper.
Roughly chop the leaf part of the cilantro (coriander). Add into the bowl of shredded duck.
Thinly slice the wombok leaves width wise from the base to the tip of the leaf. Add into the bowl of shredded duck.
Remove the skin from the oranges and cut into slivers.
Remove the skin of the ruby red grapefruit and slice into large round wheels. Lay the grapefruit slices on a baking tray. Scatter evenly with 2 tbsp of brown sugar and use a blowtorch to caramelise it. Repeat on the other side with the remaining 2 tbsp of brown sugar. Should take about 2-3 minutes each side. Cut the larger wheels into half if they are too big.
Salad Dressing
Peel a small ginger and finely grate.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil, plum sauce, tamarind paste and grated ginger until well combined.
Assembly
Place half the mixed salad of shredded duck, cilantro (coriander) and wombok on the platter. Gently place half the orange slivers and half the caramelised grapefruit in and above the salad. Add half the portion of dressing and season with pepper.
Repeat this process with the remaining ingredients on top.
Notes
If you prefer to use duck breast, remove the skin and marinade it with soy sauce, char siu sauce and Chinese rice wine. Pan fry each side for about 2-3 minutes each, depending how pink you like your duck. Slice thinly.
Regular grapefruit can be used if you can’t find ruby red grapefruit. But note that it is not as sweet.
If you can’t get a hold of tamarind, you can substitute it with a mixture of lime juice and equal parts brown sugar.