Crispy Duck Salad with Orange & Radicchio

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts, skin scored
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 60 g baby spinach
• salt and black pepper
• 2 spring onions, green tops only, finely sliced
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp five-spice powder
• 1 radicchio, leaves torn
• 2 oranges, peeled, segmented
• 1 tsp tamari
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• steamed jasmine rice, to serve
• pickled cucumber, to serve

Method

1. Pat the duck breasts properly dry — water means steam, and steam means no crisp skin. Season generously with salt, pepper and the five-spice, working it into the scored skin.
2. Lay the duck skin-side down in a cold, dry stainless or cast-iron pan, then set it over medium-low heat. Starting cold is the whole trick: the fat renders out slowly over 8–10 minutes and the skin shatters-crisp instead of seizing. Don't crowd the pan — two breasts only, with space between them, or you'll steam rather than render. Tip off the pooled fat halfway through (save it for roast potatoes another day).
3. Flip when the skin is deep mahogany and properly crisp. Cook flesh-side for 4–5 minutes for blushing pink — pull at 54°C internal, the temperature carries up to 58°C as it rests. Lift onto a board and rest for 5 full minutes; cutting early means the juice ends up on the board, not in the duck.
4. While the duck rests, whisk the olive oil, rice vinegar, tamari and honey in a small bowl until glossy and emulsified. Taste it on a leaf — most of the salt comes from the tamari, but a final pinch and a few cracks of pepper tie it together.
5. Tip the radicchio, spinach and orange segments into a large bowl. Dress at the last possible moment with just enough to coat — over-dressed leaves wilt and sulk within minutes. Taste a leaf, adjust now, not at the table.
6. Slice the rested duck thinly across the grain — you'll see the pink centre and hear the skin crack under the knife.
7. Pile the dressed salad onto two plates, fan the duck slices over the top, scatter with the spring onion greens and toasted sesame seeds, and drizzle the remaining dressing over the duck itself. Serve the steamed jasmine rice and pickled cucumber alongside.