BBC Good Food Oriental Duck Salad

Today's post is a variation on a theme from yesterday.  More duck. Still couldn't face the idea of duck and grapefruit so decided to go with an duck noodle salad for a working from home lunch.

The inspiration came from BBC Good Food although like with so many recipes, there are versions of this salad all over the shop.  And because I was time limited, I adapted it for my own needs.  I wanted something I could make in ten minutes so that I could spend the other twenty minutes of my lunch break sat in the back garden.  Admittedly I was slurping with one hand and scrawling notes with the other, but at least I got to see the sunshine for a change which was great.

Sunny lunch in the garden - love the reflections

The original recipe roasts a duck leg in the oven but as I had duck mini-fillets, I seasoned them and then pan fried them.  A little too much in fact as they were a little too overcooked for my tastes but they still tasted good.  I didn't have celery so replaced this with a handful of beansprouts.  And I warmed my noodles back up because the idea of hot duck and cold slimy noodles didn't really do it for me.

Actually, it always frustrates me when I read comments on recipes on the Good Food website where people say 'I really enjoyed this recipe.  But I didn't use the recommended meat or vegetables and I changed the spicing and cooking method yadda yadda'.  I want to shout at my screen 'So you made a totally different recipe so how could you give it five stars?  Or no stars?  Why bother commenting on a recipe for a chocolate cake when you ended up making spag bol?'  Okay so I've never found one quite that extreme.  But there are some that are nearly that bad.

So here's the original recipe if you want to try that.

And here's what I did instead

Recipe - serves 2 

100g duck breast mini fillets
1 bunch ramen noodles (I used blue dragon)
1 medium carrot, made into strips with a vegetable peeler
2 spring onions, cut into thin strips - reserve some greens for the garnish.
handful of bean sprouts
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.  Drain, refresh in cold running water and place in a small saucepan.
Season the duck breasts, pan fry for four minutes then remove and slice thinly.
Mix the hoisin, soy and sesame oil.  Tip into the saucepan with the noodles and warm gently.
Mix in the sesame seeds and vegetables, divide between two serving plates then top with the duck.
Garnish with extra soy and the spring onion greens.