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- A playful twist on a classic summer roll
- Rice paper rolls versus spring rolls
- Ingredients you'll need for the crispy duck rice paper rolls
- How to make crispy rice paper roll
- Secrets to perfectly cooked duck
- The ultimate filling for crispy duck rice paper rolls
- Other duck recipes
- Latest recipes
- Crispy duck rice paper rolls recipe
This duck rice paper roll recipe is a playful take on a Vietnamese summer roll, whereby the usually soaked rice paper used to wrap these cold versions of a Chinese spring roll is firstly shallow fried to create a curved taco-like boat with which to stuff an assortment of delicious ingredients into.
Our take on this Vietnamese staple still uses vibrant crunchy vegetables and healthy leafy greens and herbs whilst pairing them with our spicy rendition of a Korean steak tartare made with chopped, seared crispy duck breast coated with saucy gochujang, soy and Sambal Oelek.
A playful twist on a classic summer roll
With inspiration taken from all over East Asia, we’re left with a playful, piquant adaptation of a summer classic, classy enough to serve from picnics to dinner parties all year round.
Classic Vietnamese summer rolls or Gỏi cuốn are traditionally served at room temperature and contain a myriad of ingredients presented in a way that they are seen underneath the rice paper surface which becomes soft, translucent and glassy when dipped in water. Rice paper comes dried and rigid, rather like store-bought pasta and only becomes malleable and easy to wrap around your fillings when submerged briefly in cold water. Traditional choice ingredients include crispy shredded vegetables such as carrots, cabbage and radishes, lettuce and greens such as spring onions and often noodles with a protein such as cooked prawns, shrimp, crab or boiled pork. Flavourings are added in the form of fresh herbs such as Vietnamese basil, mint and coriander (cilantro) and traditional aromatics such as fish sauce, lime and vinegar.
As the ingredients are on display and visible underneath the rice paper, it is important to layer the ingredients systematically in order to present a beautiful eye-catching crispy duck rice paper roll. Haphazard and uneven fillings will result in a difficult-to-roll lumpy mess. With this pre-fried taco-esque style of presentation, although a little mastering of the technique can be had, the joy of filling and stuffing your summer rolls is made infinitely easier.
Rice paper rolls versus spring rolls
Summer rolls are not to be mistaken for spring rolls, although they are a variant of this type of dim sum. A Chinese spring roll is made with an egg pancake which is traditionally stuffed with the new season’s spring vegetables rather than the preserved produce archaicly more prevalently used in the long winter months. Today of course, fresh ingredients and preserved ingredients can all be bought throughout the year which can give rise to all these wonderful seasonally different combinations and interpretations of these traditional foods. Throughout Asia, and in fact the world, different nations have their own signature versions of these rolls, some hot, some cold but all enjoyed with tasty dipping sauce on the side.
In Vietnam, there are three common dipping sauces, nước chấm which is made with fish sauce, lime, garlic, chilli, vinegar and sugar; tương xào, a common condiment that uses fermented bean paste; and a hoisin peanut sauce which seemingly marries up a classic sweet and thick Chinese hoisin bbq sauce with a Malaysian satay sauce. In Japan, they serve their rolls with karashi, a type of mustard, and soy sauce and Chinese restaurants will often have sweet chilli sauce as an accompaniment. All of these can be served on the side, however, with these crispy fried summer rolls, we’ve added a flavoursome duck filling tossed in its own sweet and spicy sauce. This is our interpretation of Korean Steak tartare that uses a sumptuous seared crispy duck breast rather than a raw beef steak, which for all intense purposes would work as a perfect substitute if you want to skip out the stage of cooking the duck.
Ingredients you'll need for the crispy duck rice paper rolls
For our crispy duck rice paper rolls, the components are simple and easily prepared.
- First of all, we have our dried rice paper which is shallow fried one end at a time to create a curved roll/ taco.
- A diced seared crispy duck breast which is coated in equal parts gochujang and Sambal Oelek with egg yolk - as you would see in a traditional steak tartare - along with a dash of soy sauce
- Thinly sliced red cabbage lightly marinated in rice wine vinegar and mirin gives it equal amounts of sweetness and acidity.
- Fresh and crunchy julienne carrot, baby spinach leaves, mint and coriander/cilantro for an eye-catching rainbow-coloured result.
How to make crispy rice paper roll
The trick to create our beautifully crispy roll is to shallow-fry the rice paper straight from the packet. This way the paper puffs up almost instantly. If you place the whole sheet into a pan of oil to shallow fry, you will create a large crispy plate reminiscent of a giant prawn cracker. This is a perfectly acceptable way to serve this dish, however, if you shallow-fry one end at a time, you can hold the other end with your hand as you don’t get much spitting from a shallow fry, otherwise use a pair of tongs, drag one half through the oil and turn it on itself to try to roll it. Once one side has been done, hold the cooked half of the sheet and repeat the process for the other side. You will have created a curved almost fully rolled crispy vessel for your fillings. There is also some pliability left in the rice paper roll so you can easily stuff them. Once cooked, all they need to do is sit on a piece of kitchen paper until the rest of the ingredients are ready.
One thing you can’t do is soften the paper in water, wrap the summer rolls and then fry them. This will not result in the crispy surface required. This type of cooking technique or putting them in an air fryer will give you warm rolls more like a Chinese spring roll and give you cooked vegetables rather than the fresh crunchy and exciting textures that give these summer rolls their unique appeal.
To make the Korean duck steak tartare component of our duck rice paper rolls, we cook the duck breast first unlike a traditional steak tartare which uses raw beef, although you can interchange beef for duck if preferred. The duck however remains beautifully pink inside with a wonderfully succulent texture. The crispy skin works ever so well flavour-wise and texture-wise too.
Secrets to perfectly cooked duck
The key to cooking a crispy duck breast is to use a cold pan and low heat. Start by scoring the surface of the skin of the duck in a crisscross pattern making sure you don’t slice into the flesh, then season with salt - smoked salt works particularly well - and place the duck, skin side down into the frying pan with no added oil. Turn on the heat to a low to mid-low heat and gently cook the duck for 8-10 minutes. During this time the fat of the skin will render down. One tip is to lift the duck up occasionally and most importantly near to the beginning of the cooking process so that the skin doesn’t stick to your pan.
After 8-10 minutes, turn the duck over and cook the flesh side for about 2 minutes. This is an important stage as it moistens the duck all over by doing this and creates a regulated colour over the meat too. The last part is to turn the heat up and flip the duck back onto the skin side to finish crisping up the skin. This will take approximately 3-4 minutes, but do check that it doesn’t blacken or the taste of the skin will be more bitter and you could potentially end up with an overcooked piece of duck rather than the perfect medium rare we are looking for.
Remove the duck from the heat and set it down on a chopping board to rest. The meat will then firm up so that we don’t get juices running all over the place later when we coat the duck in the dressing (which would ultimately thin the sauce). Once adequately rested, dice the duck into small cubes similar in size to what you would do for a traditional tartare and then prepare the sauce.
The ultimate filling for crispy duck rice paper rolls
To make this rich, sweet and spicy dressing we use equal quantities of gochujang, a spicy Korean fermented chilli paste condiment and sambal oelek, a raw Indonesian chilli paste with vinegar, the combination is electric. Add one egg yolk with a dash of soy sauce that gives the unctuousness and saltiness of a classic French tartare but mixed with all the flavour of Korean steak tartare, then simply toss the duck cubes into the sauce and set aside.
For the crunchy vegetable contingent and to give this duck rice paper roll its vivid allure we use julienned carrot, a handful of fresh spinach and shredded red cabbage which has been marinated in mirin and rice wine vinegar so that it is ever so lightly pickled, not overly so that the crunch diminishes but just enough for the colour to deepen. The last ingredients are fresh mint and fresh coriander which add a particular flavour profile no self-respecting summer roll is without.
With all these fillings prepared and set out in front of you, simply divide them equally in layers inside your crisp rice paper rolls and serve.
This is a playful Asian fusion food, brilliant to serve as a stand-alone dish otherwise it is excellent as part of a fusion dim sum banquet. Why not try other recipes such as Steamed Pizzas or Ponzu Chicken.
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Crispy duck rice paper rolls recipe
Ingredients
- 2 rice paper sheets 22 cm/8.5-inch circle
- 1 duck fillet
- 150 g red cabbage shredded
- 1 carrot julienned
- 35 g fresh spinach
- 1 tablespoon of mirin
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
- ½ a tablespoon of gochujang
- ½ a tablespoon of Sambal Oelek
- 2 tablespoon of fresh coriander/cilantro and mint
Instructions
- Combine the shredded red cabbage, mirin and rice wine vinegar in a bowl or freezer bag and set aside to marinate.
- Pour vegetable oil into a frying so that it about 1cm deep. Bring up to a medium high heat. Using tongs dip one half of a sheet of rice paper in the hot oil to puff up, roll the sheet through the oil to form a curve. Remove the sheet then using the tongs on the cooked side repeat this process for the other half to form a roll shaped taco. Set aside on kitchen paper. Repeat this process for the other sheet.
- Score the duck skin with a sharp knife in a criss cross pattern taking care not to slice into the meat. Season the skin with a generous pinch of salt.
- Place the duck skin side down in a frying pan with no oil. Place on the hob and bring the heat up to a low to medium low heat. Gently sear the duck for 8-10 minutes, lifting the breast from time to time to stop it from sticking.
- After this time, turn the duck over and sear for a further 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat up to medium high heat and place the duck back on the skin side down to crisp up the skin for another 3-4 minutes. Make sure you do not blacken the skin.
- Remove the duck breast and set it aside on a chopping board to rest.
- Combine the Gochujang, Sambal Oelek, egg yolk and soy sauce in a bowl and whisk together.
- Dice the duck up into 1cm cubes and toss it through the sauce.
- Fill up each rice paper roll with an equal layer of spinach, followed by the julienne carrot, red cabbage and diced duck. Garnish with coriander/cilantro and mint and serve.
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