Five Spice Duck with Nectarine, Bok Choy and Cucumber Salad

Ready in 25 minutes • Serves 2-3
This dish most recently appeared in My Gourmet (4 Nights For 2) on Sunday, February 14, 2016.

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To reduce your time in the kitchen for this express recipe, make the dressing in advance along with vegetable prep.

Ingredients

100g vermicelli noodles
2 nectarines
1/2 telegraph cucumber
2 baby bok choy
1/2 shallot
1/4 cup whole roasted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped mint, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, coriander (from Thai herb pack)

a full kettle to the boil.
Trim duck breasts of overhanging fat. Use a sharp knife to score skin in at 1cm intervals. Pat dry with paper towels, season with salt and rub in Chinese five spice. Heat a fry-pan on medium heat. Cook duck, skin-sidedown, for 6–8 minutes until most of the fat has rendered out and skin is golden. If skin browns too quickly, reduce heat. Flip over, reduce heat to low to medium, and continue to cook for 4–5 minutes until duck is cooked through medium. Set aside, covered with foil, to rest for 5–10 minutes then slice thinly.
Place noodles in a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 5 minutes until soft, then drain and run under cold water to prevent sticking. Snip strands in a few places to make them easier to eat.
Prepare salad vegetables. Quarter nectarines and thinly slice; cut cucumber in half lengthways and use a spoon to scoop out seeds; discard seeds and thinly slice; trim ends off bok choy and thinly slice; thinly slice shallot; roughly chop peanuts and herbs. Place all in a bowl.
In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients together.
Toss cooked noodles with vegetables, peanuts, herbs and dressing. Season to taste with fish or soy sauce and freshly ground black pepper, if required.
Divide nectarine, bok choy and cucumber vermicelli salad between plates and top with sliced duck. Serve with chilli sauce on top, if desired.