Thai style duck and green papaya salad

I've only made Thai papaya salad once and only had it at a restaurant once but I remember both time the salad was incredibly flavorful. Usually the salad is vegetarian but why not add some protein to make it a full meal? And why not add duck while you're at it?

Thai Style Duck and Green Papaya Salad

Recipe from Food and Wine
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 tbsp raw long-grain rice
2 tbsp dried shrimp, chopped (optional)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 Thai chile, chopped
1 tbsp unsalted roasted peanuts
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp granulated sugar
4 small plum tomatoes, chopped
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 1/2 lb green papaya, peeled and cut into long thin strands on a mandoline
1 large carrot, cut into long strands on a mandoline
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 tbsp cilantro leaves
3 tbsp mint leaves
4 oz dried rice vermicelli, soaked in water for 20 minutes and drained
2 boneless Pekin duck breasts (6 oz each) - fat trimmed, skin scored in a crosshatch pattern
salt

Directions

1. In a small skillet, toast the rice over moderate heat, tossing, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer the rice to a mortar or spice grinder and let cool completely. Pound or grind to a powder.
2. In a large mortar (or food processor), pound the dried shrimp until coarsely ground. Add the garlic, chile and peanuts and pound coarsely. Add both sugars and pound to a paste. Add the tomatoes and pound to coarsely crush them. Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce.
3. In a large bowl, toss the green papaya, carrot, shallots, cilantro and mint leaves. Add the tomato dressing and toss well.
4. In a saucepan of boiling water, add the drained rice noodles. Cook until just al dente, about 30 seconds. Drain and return the noodles to the saucepan. Fill the saucepan with cold water and swirl. Drain and repeat 3 times to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Drain the noodles in a colander and lift them up a few times to release excess water.
5. Heat a medium skillet. Season the duck breasts with salt and add them to the hot skillet, skin side down. Cook over moderately high heat for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook until the skin is browned and crisp, about 2 minutes longer. Turn the duck and cook until medium-rare, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer the duck to a carving board to rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the duck breasts crosswise.
6. Add the rice noodles to the green papaya salad and toss well. Transfer to a platter. Arrange the duck slices on top. Sprinkle with the toasted rice powder and serve.

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving: 303 calories, 3.7g fat (0.9g saturated, 0.8g polyunsaturated, 1.3g monounsaturated),  55.8g carbohydrates, 5.4g fiber, 13.4g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

When toasting the rice, keep your heat on medium, not too hot, and keep a close eye on the grain so it doesn't burn. As it turns golden, you can start to smell the rice toasting.

Dried shrimp is optional in this recipe but I added it to my sauce. Dried shrimp adds a sort of umami quality that adds flavor to the overall sauce. Find it at a local Asian market.

Since I don't have a mortar and pestle I used my handy food processor to make the paste and finishing sauce.

Green papaya wasn't available at my local market, but I was able to find it at the Asian store. It is different from yellow papaya not only in color but in texture and taste. Green papaya is much firmer to the touch and is not sweet at all. Even the seeds are a different color!

Now surprisingly, I was unable to find duck breast at my Asian grocery store so I purchased duck wings instead. Duck wings are much tougher than chicken wings so I decided to make duck confit.

First season both sides of the wing with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of oil on a nonstick pan and bring to high heat. Add the duck wings and sear on both sides until golden brown.

Ideally I would want to use duck fat, but since I didn't have any on hand I decided to use olive oil instead. Arrange the wings in a single layer in a deep pot and add enough oil to cover the wings. Cook on low heat for 1-2 hours - at a very slow simmer with an occasional bubble - until the meat can easily be pulled from the bone.

You can also choose to prepare the duck in the oven. Arrange the wings in a single layer in a baking dish and add enough oil to cover the wings. Cook the wings at 225 for about 2 hours or until the meat falls off the bone.

When reading over the recipe you might wonder what is the purpose of soaking the noodles if you're going to cook them anyways. Well, rice vermicelli is actually quite thick and takes a while to cook on the stove top. If you soak them in water before hand, it cooks much faster later. I also think soaking the noodles before hand allows it to maintain the texture of being al dente.

I loved the dressing for this salad! It's fresh but still tangy and salty, all well-balanced. The duck wings were tender, pulled apart quickly and added the satisfying fatty element to this dish. Next time I would even make this dish with grilled shrimp, steak, or even tofu!