Chrysanthemum and Grilled Duck Salad

Ingredients

Duck breast:

2 duck breasts about 280 g each
Sea salt
Yakitori tare grilling sauce

Dressing:

118mL rice wine vinegar
35 g grated onion, grated with a rasp-style grater or on the ?nest holes of a box grater
60mL shoyu
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs mirin

75 g loosely packed picked chrysanthemum greens
25 g loosely packed picked frilly mustard greens
2 Tbs grated and lightly drained daikon
2 kumquats, thinly sliced, seeds removed

Yakitori tare grilling sauce:

236mL cooking sake
236mL shoyu
118mL mirin
106 g unrefined Japanese sugar (zarame) or raw sugar

Method

To prepare the duck:

Remove the tender, which is loosely attached to the inside of the breast, and reserve for another use. Trim the quarter-sized piece of silver-skin membrane and discard. Score the skin in a crosshatch pattern and salt heavily on both sides, using about 1 teaspoon of salt per breast.

Place the duck, skin-side down, in a cold pan and set the pan over medium heat. Cook until the fat has rendered from beneath the skin and the skin has turned golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Set a wire grill rack over the yakitori grill, then set the duck breast skin-side up on the screen. Grill, turning and basting four or ?ve times with the tare; be careful to move the duck away from any ?are-ups on the grill.

Grill for 10 to 12 minutes until medium rare, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 55 C. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Yakitori tare grilling sauce:

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a low boil. Let cook, stirring frequently and checking to ensure it’s not charring on the sides of the pan, until the sauce is reduced by 20 percent, about 30 minutes.

To make the dressing:

In a small bowl, stir together the vinegar, onion, shoyu, sugar and mirin. The dressing will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to
2 weeks.

To prepare the greens:

Remove the thick, tougher stems and rough outer leaves of the chrysanthemum and frilly mustard greens. Soak together in a bowl of cold water for a couple of minutes. Using your hands, lift the greens out of the water and place in a strainer.

Don’t pour them into a strainer, because you’ll end up pouring any sand and grit that’s come off in the water back onto your greens. Repeat if necessary. Spin dry and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

When ready to serve, in a large bowl, add the daikon and a few tablespoons of the dressing and mix together. Add the greens and toss carefully. Taste for seasoning, adding more dressing if necessary. Mound the greens in a tower on a large serving plate. Slice the grilled duck breast crosswise into thin slices and lean the slices against the bottom of your towering salad.

Garnish with the kumquats.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Rintaro by Sylvan Mishima Brackett with Jessica Battilana published by Hardie Grant Books. RRP $60

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Rintaro by Sylvan Mishima Brackett with Jessica Battilana published by Hardie Grant Books. RRP $60