Duck Confit Spring Rolls with Honey Dipping Sauce
France and Asia have been swapping duck secrets for a very long time, and this is where the two traditions shake hands: rich, slow-cooked French confit, wrapped and fried the Asian way, dunked in a sweet-sharp honey sauce. The French call them nems. Your guests will call them gone.
The genius of using Comtesse du Barry’s duck confit here is that the hard part arrives finished — duck legs cooked in their own fat until they shred with a fork, seasoned with Guérande salt. You’re not cooking duck. You’re just rolling it.
What you need
- 2 Comtesse du Barry duck confit legs, skin and bones removed, meat shredded
- 1 carrot, cut into fine matchsticks
- 3 spring onions, finely shredded
- 1 tsp finely grated ginger
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 12 spring roll wrappers (about 20 cm)
- Neutral oil, for frying
For the dipping sauce:
- 2 tbsp Hunnie raw WA honey
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp yuzu flavour pearls
Method
- Toss the shredded duck with the carrot, spring onion, ginger and soy sauce.
- Lay a wrapper corner towards you, put a generous tablespoon of filling low on the diamond, fold in the sides and roll tight, sealing the tip with a dab of water. Repeat until you have twelve.
- Fry in 3 cm of oil at 180 °C for 3–4 minutes, turning, until golden and blistered. Or brush with oil and air-fry at 200 °C for about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towel.
- Whisk the honey, soy and rice vinegar for the sauce, then spoon the yuzu pearls in last so they stay whole — they burst on the tongue as little citrus fireworks between bites.
- Serve hot, dip generously, accept the applause.
The rolls can be assembled a few hours ahead and kept under a just-damp tea towel in the fridge; fry them when people arrive so the crackle is at full volume. If the pearls in the sauce have opened a door for you, our guide on how to use flavour pearls walks through the whole trick, and the raw honey shelf covers the sweet side of everything else you’re planning.
