Salads

Chinese Fruit Salad

Chinese Fruit Salad is a fresh and easy dessert perfect for warm summer days.
IngredientsChineseFruitSalad
You will need:

    1 banana, peeled and sliced
    1 c mango slices
    2 kiwi, skinned and sliced
    1 large Chinese peach, thinly sliced
    4 large strawberries, halved
    2 Tbsp white sugar
    1/4 tsp almond extract
    1/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
Preparation

    In small bowl, combine five spice, sugar and almond extract. Mix and set aside.

    In large bowl, place sliced bananas in ring around edge, and lay sliced kiwi in middle. Sprinkle lightly with sugar mixture.

    Place mango slices on top, sprinkling with sugar mix again. Repeat with peach slices and sprinkle with sugar mixture.

    Place strawberries in middle and sprinkle with remaining sugar mix.

    Cover and let chill for up to an hour.
This is a salad of bold flavors, but somehow they all manage to work together well. Sweet corn tossed with peppery arugula, bacon, onion, cumin, and wine vinegar to balance the sweet corn, and you have stimulated all the major tastes your tongue can perceive. If you have a grill, and the time, I highly recommend grilling the corn(in their husks) for this recipe; the smokey flavor just can't be beat.

Arugula Corn Salad with Bacon Recipe

• 4 large ears of corn
• 2 cups of chopped arugula (about one bunch)
• 4 strips of bacon, cooked, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• METHOD

  1 Cook the corn ears, in their husks, either on the grill for a smokey flavor, or by steaming in a large covered stock pot with an inch of boiling water at the bottom of the pot, for 12-15 minutes. Let the corn cool (can run under cold water to speed up the cooling), remove the husks and silk. I recommend cooking the corn in the husks for the added flavor that the husks impart. If you boil or steam the corn ears after you've already husked them, or if you cook them in the microwave, reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.
  2 To remove the kernels from the cobs, stand a corn cob vertically over a large, shallow bowl. Use a sharp knife to make long, downward strokes, removing the kernels from the cob, as you work your way around the cob. Note: it may help to work over a low table, to be in a better ergonomic position to cut the cobs this way.
  3 In a medium sized bowl, mix together the corn, chopped arugula, bacon, and onions. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and cumin. Mix dressing into salad just before serving. Taste and add more vinegar if necessary to balance the sweetness of the corn.

    Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

cook Time: 15 Min

Ready In: 1 Hr 45 Min

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
• 2 (4.5 ounce) cans small shrimp, drained and chopped, or more to taste
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 green onions, finely sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 sprig fresh dill for garnish, or as needed
• 1 sprig fresh parsley for garnish, or as needed

Directions

1. Place the eggs into a saucepan in a single layer and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1 inch. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil; remove from heat and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15 minutes. Drain the hot water; cool the eggs under cold runningwater in the sink. Peel and set aside.
2. While the eggs are cooking, fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the ditalini pasta, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain. Rinse the pasta in cold water until cool and drain thoroughly.
3. In a large salad bowl, lightly toss the cooked ditalini, shrimp, celery, green onions, chopped dill, chopped parsley, lemon juice, and mayonnaise until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the hard-cooked eggs, and retain several pretty slices for garnish. Gently fold in the rest of the eggs. Arrange reserved egg slices, sprigs of dill, and parsleysprigs on top of the salad; chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 214

Total Fat: 16.4g

Cholesterol: 97mg

We eat a lot of cabbage around here. Could be my father's Minnesota German roots, but for whatever reason, coleslaw is on the menu several times a week. I recently had a lovely Asian coleslaw at a local grill, that was served with an ahi tuna burger. This is my attempt to recreate that coleslaw, and I think I've come pretty close (may try my hand at the burger sometime too). It's super easy to put together; the defining ingredients are cabbage, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil. This version also has some peanut butter in the dressing and some twice toasted peanuts. So good! We had to stop eating it after our "test kitchen" tasting, just to save enough for dinner
Asian Coleslaw Recipe
The dressing on this salad is peanut-based. If you have a food allergy to peanuts, you can substitute tahini for the peanut butter (or leave it out all together), and toasted sesame seeds for the peanuts.
Add to shopping list
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon toasted (dark) sesame oil
4 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (if seasoned rice vinegar is not available, add a teaspoon or two of sugar to regular rice vinegar)
4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (Napa, green, purple, or a combination)
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup toasted, salted, shelled, peeled peanuts
Optional
Chopped fresh cilantro
Thinly sliced green onions or chives
METHOD
1 Prepare dressing. Place peanut butter in a medium bowl. Add the vegetable oil and the toasted sesame oil and whisk until nicely smooth. Whisk in the seasoned rice vinegar and do a taste test. Depending on how you like your dressing, how salty your peanut butter is, how seasoned your rice vinegar is, you may want to add a little more vinegar, a little more sugar, or a little salt. (Makes about 3/4 cup of dressing.)
2 Toast the peanuts. Although the roasted peanuts from the store may already be cooked, you'll get even better flavor with just a little toasting. Heat a small skillet on medium high heat and add the nuts to the pan. Do not ignore or the nuts can easily burn. Stir a little with a wooden spoon until the peanuts begin to get browned in spots and you can smell the toasting aromas. Remove peanuts from pan to a dish.
3 In a large bowl, toss the sliced cabbage, grated carrots, and peanuts together, and any other optional ingredients you care to add (like a little chopped cilantro or green onions). Right before serving, mix in the dressing.
Great with fish or burgers.