Fire & ice cucumber salad
This dish will take your culinary adventure further in two ways — with Asian-inspired flavors and a kick of heat.
Fiery food on a sweltering summer day? Are you kidding?
Nope. Think about the strong spices in many foods from southeast Asia and the American Southwest.
One possible explanation for what seems like a culinary paradox: Flaming-hot foods can make you sweat, which actually cools you down.
So, we’re piling on the peppers, balanced by chilled cucumbers, which are about 90% healthy, hydrating water. (Not to mention overloading garden trellises about now.)
It’s cold. Hot. Light and fresh-picked. Kind of the perfect summer dish.
Ingredients:
Salad:
- 2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 sweet red pepper, julienned
- Half a red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced
- Half a seeded, diced hot pepper, like serrano, jalapeño… or ghost pepper, anyone?
Marinade:
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 teaspoon each salt, garlic powder and pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Optional toppings: fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts and sliced green onion
Directions:
Toss the veggies and marinade in a bowl that won’t burst into flame when the peppers hit, refrigerate for at least 2 hours and enjoy.
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The lowdown on local
The veggies in this salad can all be grown in your backyard or picked up at a farmers market. And freshly picked means nutrient-packed. Vitamins like A, B, C and E start to deteriorate when fruits and vegetables are shipped in from long distances. Another health benefit: The less produce is handled, the less chance there is for contamination. That’s a great reason to get growing right at home!