8.06.2011

ASIAN INSPIRED ZUCCHINI SALAD

Really lousy picture of: FRESH ZUCCHINI SALAD WITH HEIRLOOM TOMATOES


Recently I purchased a unique kitchen tool from Pampered Chef. It slices veggies into strips similar to sphagetti. I've used it on cucumbers and zucchini and I made a salad for dinner tonight using the tool on zucchini. I was watching Aarti Party, a cooking show, and she was making a zucchini ribbon salad. I don't have a mandolin that slices ribbons, but I do have this little tool so I decided to use her ingredient list and cut the zucchini into strips.  I took a picture but it turned out awful! I wish I had checked the camera before we ate the salad, because I couldn't redo the picture!! So, you will have to use your imagination a bit!

The dressing for this salad is supposed to have fish sauce but I used oyster sauce because that's what I had in the fridge. She also used lime juice but I had lemon. She used fresh chopped chilis, which I didn't have, so I used chili paste instead. I also added about a tablespoon of soy sauce and a bit of olive oil, and 2 finely grated garlic cloves.  The other ingredient she added was cilantro and I used dill from the garden. I loved the tang and heat this dressing gave off. I could have used a little more heat but Richard doesn't like much heat so I was careful not to over-do with the heat. Oh yes, I also added 2 tablespoons of brown sugar...and lovely hot/sweet/sour combination that was perfect with fresh zucchini.

I added several varieties of heirloom tomatoes and marinated it for 1/2 hour before we ate. It was DELICOUS! You might, however, get a different opinion from my husband! He's not as much of a fan of asian cuisine...me? It's my favorite! When I opened the container it was marinating in he said "WHAT?...is that SMELL?" Good grief!!! I could have said the same thing to him when he brought in the grilled burger he wanted for dinner!! I don't care much for burgers and wouldn't miss it if I never had one again!  We also had the sweet corn we bought at the farmer's market today and it was so sweet and tender!

A perfect summer dinner....in MY opinion!

2 comments:

  1. It looks so delicious would be great for a summer get-together...does the zucchini get soft really fast or does it last for awhile. - Jeff

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  2. No, it doesn't get soft but it does give off quite a bit of liquid. Next time, I think I would let it sit for 1/2 hour to drain in a colander before 'dressing' it. Actually, now that I think about it, it stayed crunchy but it does soften up because the bowl was very full when I made it but 1/2 hour later when we ate, it had shrunk. Still crunchy though!

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