Thai Style Duck Noodle Salad
Thai crispy skin duck noodle salad is one of my favourite warm-weather meals. I crisp up duck until the skin is golden and crackling, then slice it over rice noodles tossed with fresh herbs, crunchy veg, and a zesty lime dressing. The richness of the duck balances beautifully with the light, bright salad. It’s bold, vibrant, and full of texture – perfect for when I want something a bit special but still quick and easy to pull together. Every bite is full of flavour and contrast.
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 duck breast fillets with skin on
- 1 cucumber, grated
- 1 carrot, grated
- 2 spring onions, white parts finely sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
- 100g rice vermicelli noodles
Dressing
- 1 tbsp minced lemongrass
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp minced chilli
- 1 tbsp coriander roots, finely diced
- Fried Shallots to serve
Instructions
Crispy Skin Duck
- Preheat oven to 190C.
- Pat dry the duck skin with a paper towel, and score using a sharp knife.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and fry the duck skin-side down for 8 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Discard any excess oil every minute or so as it renders.
- Turn the duck so it's skin side up, and sear an additional minute.
- Transfer the duck fillets to the oven and cook for 15-18 minutes, or until cooked through, but still blushing.
- Remove from the oven, and set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Once cool to touch, thinly slice the duck and set aside.
Salad
- In a large bowl, toss together the cucumber, carrots, spring onion, fresh coriander and fresh mint. Set aside.
- Cover the noodles in boiling water, and sit for 5 minutes or until cooked through.
- Strain noodles in a colander, and then rinse under cold water. Set aside to drain and cool completely.
Dressing
- In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, stir together all dressing ingredients and heat through for 1-2 minutes or until palm sugar has completely dissolved.
- Set aside and all to cool.
Crispy Skin Duck Salad
- Toss the dressing and cooled noodles through the prepared salad and divide between four bowls.
- Top the salad with the crispy skin duck, and sprinkle with fried shallots.
- Serve.
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 557Total Fat: 12.5gSaturated Fat: 4.4gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 915mgCarbohydrates: 87.7gFiber: 2.7gSugar: 48.3gProtein: 26.5g
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Thai Crispy Skin Duck Noodle Salad – Too Good To Be True
Another day, another salad
Can you tell I’ve fully embraced the summer spirit? This Thai Crispy Skin Duck Noodle Salad is the kind of dish that makes you forget it’s bucketing down outside. It brings together all the best things about Thai salads: sweet, sour, spicy, and fresh, with that wonderful crunch and zing in every bite. Now, full disclosure, the sunshine had briefly made a reappearance here in Scotland and I was living my best linen-trousered life for all of two days. Naturally, the rain returned before I even had the chance to hang out a second load of washing. But regardless of the weather, my cravings for something bright and refreshing won out, and this noodle salad was born.
The inspiration for this one actually goes way back. Years ago in Australia, there was a little Thai place around the corner from where I lived that did a salad that was very similar – all crispy skin duck, cool cucumber, chilli heat and the kind of dressing that made your lips tingle in the best possible way. I mostly ordered Thai Beef Salad if I’m honest, but every so often I’d swap it for the duck and feel ever so slightly fancy. There’s something a bit indulgent about duck, isn’t there? Rich and silky with that golden skin, but when it’s balanced with all those fresh herbs and crunchy veg, it just sings.
This Thai Crispy Skin Duck Noodle Salad is my love letter to that old favourite. A mix of nostalgia, heat, and the desperate attempt to manifest warm weather through food. It’s spicy, tangy, and delightfully cooling all at once. One bite in and I was practically on a beach with a coconut in one hand and a sunhat I can never actually wear in the other.
Finding the Balance: Sweet, Sour, Heat and Crunch
I know I say this all the time, but the magic in Thai food really is in the balance. It’s the kind of cuisine that makes me wish I was better at keeping fresh herbs alive, because when you get the ratio just right – sweet from palm sugar or brown sugar, tang from lime, umami from fish sauce, and that glorious chilli heat – it’s perfection. This salad is no different. The dressing is zingy and punchy, the kind that makes your mouth water before it even hits your tongue, and it clings beautifully to the noodles and vegetables without drowning them.
The veg side of things is all about contrast – I love using crisp cucumber and ribbons of carrot for that juicy crunch. Add in some sliced red onion for bite, and herbs like coriander and mint for that fragrant lift. Then of course, the noodles – rice noodles work best here, especially the thin vermicelli kind. They soak up flavour like a dream and keep the whole dish light and slurpable.
And finally, the duck. Oh, the duck. If you’ve never made crispy skin duck at home, don’t panic. It’s easier than you think, and the reward is that golden, crackly skin with tender meat underneath. The richness of the duck works so well with the freshness of the salad. Every forkful is the kind of bite you go back for again and again.
That Time I Tried to Bring the Sun Back With a Salad
So, I mentioned the rain, right? It hasn’t stopped for days now and I’ve officially given up on line-drying laundry until further notice. But there was a brief moment of sunshine last week, and I ran with it. I threw open the windows, wore sandals, even considered drinking something with ice in it. And in that sunny daze, I decided to recreate that Thai duck salad from memory. Of course, by the time I’d cooked the duck and chopped the veg, the clouds were back and I was huddled under a blanket in my kitchen. Still, the salad was good enough to ignore the weather.
I genuinely think food can change your mood, and this salad does just that. It’s fresh and vibrant and full of the kind of flavour that makes you sit up straighter and smile a bit wider. I ate mine at the kitchen bench with a mug of green tea and Lulu curled up in a sunny patch by the door (ever the optimist, that cat), and I felt like maybe, just maybe, summer wasn’t quite done with me yet.
And if you’re the kind of person who shies away from spicy food – don’t worry. You can absolutely dial the chilli up or down depending on your mood. I like mine with a proper kick, but if you’re feeling gentle, it still works beautifully with just a whisper of heat. That’s the beauty of a salad like this. It flexes to suit you.
Ingredients Breakdown
Let’s talk about the key bits and bobs. For the salad base, you’ll want duck breast fillets with the skin on – that’s what gives you that rich, golden crackle. Grated cucumber and carrot bring in the cooling crunch, and finely sliced spring onions add a gentle sharpness. A generous handful of fresh coriander and mint makes everything sing. Thin rice vermicelli noodles keep things light while still giving the dish a bit of body.
Now for the dressing – this is where all that Thai flavour shines. Minced lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar form the core flavour profile: zingy, salty, sweet and fresh. Toasted sesame oil adds depth, and a little minced chilli brings the heat. Don’t skip the coriander roots either – finely diced, they add a subtle earthiness that ties it all together.
To serve, I always recommend topping with a scatter of crispy fried shallots for crunch and a little more salty-savoury goodness. It adds a texture that really rounds out the whole thing. Every ingredient works in harmony here – it’s a salad that doesn’t feel like a compromise.
This looks and sounds so delicious and inviting! Can’t wait to make it.. adding Ingredients to my grocery store list.
So delicious! love the flavor in this! Will definitely be making again!
That is such a colourful summer salad. I love that you added all the herbs. It makes such a difference.