When it is so hot that your clothes are glued to your body like a sticker paper doll's.
When it is so hot that you look forward to going to the office: a) for the lovely breeze during your 6:00am bike ride; b) for the blasting A/C.
When it is so hot that the sky is more off-white than blue.
When it is so hot that you wonder why you even own an oven or a stove because you don't remember the last time you used them.
When it is so hot that you start turning to Pinterest to consider the endless possibilities of watermelon.
When it is so hot that putting on face cream or deodorant turns into a daily challenge thanks to that patina of sweat that covers your body 24/7 no matter how many times you shower.
When it is so hot you have the urge to fling your kids across the room every time they hug you or sit on your lap.
That is when this crunchy, cool salad and the heat from the chili is exactly what you need, all you crave.
But not only.
Because, to be honest, it has not been a scorching summer here (yet) and we have rarely even had to turn on our ceiling fans. Yet this five-minute salad (it might take you eight minutes if you don't own a mandolin) was the hit of the season. My daughter and son ate serving after serving of this (minus some of the chili flakes).
If you cook Asian now and again, you will already have all the ingredients right in your kitchen. Just go out and get some cukes, which are pretty staple in our home in the summer, and you have yourself a winning side dish, salad or appetizer. Cheap, quick, refreshing and delicious.
From Cooking Light
Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds,
2 tbsp white miso paste (you can substitute with soy sauce)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp hot water
1 tsp crushed chili flakes
2 tsp sesame oil (preferably dark)
about 4 thinly sliced cucumbers
Whisk together the toasted sesame seeds, miso paste, rice vinegar, honey, chili and sesame oil adding the hot water to help emulsify.
Peel and seed the cucmbers (unless you are using a skin-on variety like English cucumbers for example), slice thinly and then toss with dressing to coat.
Ah, the dreadful heat of temperate Europe.
ReplyDeleteTo really learn about being hot and sweaty you need to spend a few months from about October in Darwin. But if you love Asian food you can also go to the markets there and get everything from iced juice to green pawpaw salad with as much chilli as you can bear. Just don't swim in the beautiful blue ocean afterwards as the things that sting and bite can be lethal.
Not that I needed prompting, but now I really would love to go...
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the heat. It's a shame you can't send some of it our way. What a refreshing salad and yes, I have a time-saving mandolin xx
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned, we actually can't complain this year, but would happily send you some summer in a care package if I could ;o)
DeleteI'm reading all about your wonderful summers with such longing! And this sounds delicious-with a really nice combination of flavours :D
ReplyDeleteWow, that looks amazing! A great lunch for a very hungry law student!
ReplyDeleteHi Mr. Infinity, thanks for dropping by. You might want to add some protein and rice to the salad if you are that hungry ;o) I was a law student myself once upon a time.
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