Question: what happens when Peking Duck marries a Vietnamese spring roll? Answer: something delicious! I love duck! This dish consists of rich, crispy duck confit, tangy-crunchy pickled carrot, cilantro, Hoisin sauce, cucumber, and shredded scallion, all wrapped up nicely in a tender spring roll wrapper. (All 5 Tastes!) The only tricky thing about this recipe is learning how to use the delicate rice wrapper to roll up the goodies, but once you do, you’re sure to keep coming back for more and you will be making your own spring roll recipes full of tasty healthy ingredients. Once you master the wrappers, everything else is a snap! If you love duck the way I do, this is a must-try recipe. Enjoy!

Crispy Duck Confit Spring Rolls
Serves 4 as a light meal or first course

Ingredients: prepare and assemble your ingredients ahead.

2 legs crispy duck confit
pickled carrot matchsticks (recipe below)
a small hand full of fresh cilantro, thick stems removed
Hoisin sauce (about a tablespoon per spring roll) available at your supermarket or local Asian specialty market)
½ a small cucumber, peeled and seeded, and cut into thin matchsticks
4 scallions, the light green and white parts shredded
Vietnamese spring roll wrappers. You can find these at your local market or Asian specialty market. For ease of use, buy the larger-size wrappers.

Preparation:

1. Prepare the pickled carrot and ginger:
Makes about 1 cup

1 medium carrot, peeled, and cut into thin matchsticks
¼ teaspoon salt + a pinch
¼ cup + 1 teaspoon sugar
¾ cup of white vinegar
½ cup lukewarm water
6 thin slices of fresh ginger

1. Place the carrot matchsticks in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix around for a minute or two expelling the water from them. They will soften and liquid will pool at the bottom of the bowl. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water, then press gently to expel extra water. Dry gently with a paper towel and return the carrot sticks to the bowl along with the ginger.

2. Make the brine. In a bowl, combine the sugar, a pinch of salt, vinegar, ginger, and water, and stir to dissolve the sugar.

3. Pour the sugar-vinegar mixture over the ginger and carrot sticks. The brine should cover the vegetables. Let the vegetables marinate in the brine for at least 1 hour before eating, or transfer them to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to a week.

2. Prepare the crispy duck confit:
You can either buy duck confit at the market or make your own. I highly recommend Hellen Rennie’s YouTube video “Duck Confit with a Crisping Hack”. It walks you through how to make your own duck confit and then how to make the crispy skin by removing the leg bones and frying the confit skin down on a hot pan. If you buy the confit already prepared, simply put the legs with thighs in the microwave for about a minute or a toaster oven for 2-3 minutes to heat them up so you can twist the bones out of the meat. Fry the duck meat on a hot pan, pressing skin down until it is crisp. (2-3 minutes) Turn the meat over and cook for another minute or two until warm through. Don’t overcook and dry-out the meat.

3. Re-hydrate the spring roll wrappers:
This may take a couple of tries, but the reward is more than worth the effort. It took me a couple of tries before I produced a reasonably presentable spring roll. Persist and you will be making your own spring roll recipes full of tasty, healthy ingredients in no time. Basically, you gently remove the thin dry wrappers from the container (they are very brittle) and dip them one at a time into warm water for about 3-4 seconds. Lay the wet wrapper on a clean, dry, wooden cutting board and proceed with assembling the spring rolls one at a time very much like making a burrito. Work quickly so the wrapper doesn’t dry out and stick to the cutting board. If you want a video to learn how to re-hydrate and use spring roll wrappers, Google “How to make fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls”.

4. Spread 2-3 teaspoons of Hoisin in the middle of the damp wrapper from one side to the other and cover with a few pickled matchstick carrots and cucumber, a few sprigs of cilantro, and shredded scallions. Place a few pieces of duck on the wrapper next to the smear of Hoisin and veggies and gently roll-up. Option 1: fold two opposite sides of the wrapper over the end-length of the ingredients and gently begin to roll up the spring roll. Option 2: leave one end open like a burrito.

“Duck Confit with a Crisping Hack”- Hellen Rennie on YouTube
To learn how to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Google “How to make fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls”.

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