I had my first duck confit when I was on a date with the husband. Immediately after that dinner, I started researching on recipes to confit duck legs. I’m intrigued by how much work time was taken to confit duck legs, and the history behind duck confit.
Duck confit originated in France. Confit is the past participle of the French verb confire, or “to preserve”. Confit is also one of the oldest ways to preserve food. The process involves curing the meat in salt mixture for 24-36 hours. After which, the cured meat is cooked in it’s own rendered fat, low and slow. This results in a moist, tender, melt-in-mouth, flavourful meat. Once the meat has been confit, it can last for several months or years.
So with that, I adapted the confit technique and give it an Asian twist with *drumroll please!* Thai aromatic spices of course! I made everything on a budget from scratch, all the way to rendering the duck fat. I got about 2.5 cups (600ml) of liquid gold from 1 kg of duck fats. And the raw duck fat cost me only $2 as compared to a bottle of prepared duck fat for $20 for 700ml. I rendered about 3-4 kg of duck fat that day, and gave a couple jars of liquid gold away to friends.
Don’t let the amount of time needed to confit the meat turn you off. Most of the time is inactive, and it’s just a game of waiting. Waiting for this delicious melt in the mouth experience with the most robust explosion of flavours! The wait was definitely worth it.
Asian Bok Choy Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cups bok choy cut into 1 inch size
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 2-3 tbsp scallions use white and green parts
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 20 Thai basil leaves
- 1 navel orange supreme
Dressing
- 1/4 cup navel orange juice about 1 orange
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2-3 tsp honey
- 1 tsp sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp duck fat or olive oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Mix ingredients for dressing together in a small bowl.
- Add all the ingredients for salad in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine.
