Thai Spicy Duck Salad Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated Jan. 06, 2020
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Joshua Bousel

An intoxicating juxtaposition of flavors, including spicy and salty lime dressing, sweet pineapple, nutty cashews, and lightly smoky duck, make this a salad of the highest order.

Recipe Facts

Active: 45 mins
Total: 45 mins
Serves: 4 servings

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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons fresh juice from about 2 limes

  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce

  • 1 teaspoon palm sugar or light brown sugar

  • 1 to 2 small Thai chiles, finely chopped

  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

  • 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews

  • 1 small red onion, finely sliced

  • 3/4 cup diced pineapple

  • 1/2 cup packed roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

  • 1 large duck breast, about 1 pound

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. To make the dressing: Whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and chili in a small bowl. Set aside.

  2. Place cashews in a small cast iron skillet over medium heat. Toast until fragrant and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer a medium bowl. Add onion, pineapple, and cilantro; toss to combine. Set aside.

  3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Score duck skin diagonally every 1/2-inch. Season breast liberally all over with salt and pepper. Place duck breast on hot side of grill, skin side down, and cook until skin has browned and crisped, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and brown on other side, about 4 minutes. Move duck to cool side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until an instant read thermometer registers 130 degrees when inserted into middle of breast. Remove duck from grill and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

  4. Thinly slice duck, halving any long strips into bite-size pieces. Add duck into bowl with pineapple mixture. Pour on dressing and toss to combine. Transfer to plates and serve immediately.

Special equipment

Grill

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
311 Calories
18g Fat
15g Carbs
24g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 311
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g 23%
Saturated Fat 4g 21%
Cholesterol 116mg 39%
Sodium 534mg 23%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 24g
Vitamin C 26mg 132%
Calcium 31mg 2%
Iron 4mg 23%
Potassium 216mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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