Watermelon, Tomato & Cucumber Salad with Vietnamese Dressing
If you know me, you know I love cooking with fish sauce. If you’re new to it, this is a great recipe to bring you into the club. It’s an ingredient used a lot of South Eastern Asian cuisine. It doesn’t taste fishy, its more umami and salty. Warning: it smells like feet, no joke. But it tastes amazing. And when you mix it with lime juice and honey it creates a dressing that is greater than the sum of its parts.
This is a time to buy high quality ingredients. There’s nothing cooked here so you want full flavor, best you can get produce and ingredients. I’m always more interested in a focus on high quality rather than organic, all natural or any other category. Sometimes, at the store, the organic cucumbers look wilted and sad, but the conventional ones are crisp, bright and firm… so conventional it is! Bottom line, if you’re going to put the effort into cooking choose the highest quality ingredients possible. In terms of fish sauce, look for one that is a few extra dollars, if you have a choice - in this instance the higher the price, the better the quality- my favorite brand is Red Boat.
Make this salad as a side to grilled meats or fish. It’s the perfect summer salad: crisp, salty and herbaceous. I promise you, people will be asking for it again.
Ingredients:
¼ of a watermelon, rind cut off and cut into bite sized chunks
1 english cucumber, thinly sliced
2-3 tomatoes, thinly sliced or quartered
1 small shallot or small red onion, sliced into thin rounds
½ a jalapeño, very thinly sliced (leave it out if you don't like spicy)
Small handful (about ⅓ cup) roasted and salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Small handful of mint, torn up
Small handful of basil, torn up *any combo of mint, basil or cilantro would be great here
Here’s How:
To Make The Dressing:
Set the lime zest aside to garnish the salad with. If it made it into the lime juice, it’s not the end of the world, just add it to the dressing.
Combine all the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over low heat just until the honey melts, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Alternatively you can put everything in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously until everything is combined. If your honey is particularly thick then go with the heat method.
To Assemble The Salad:
Arrange the watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, shallots, and jalapeño on a large platter. Season with a little salt and the reserved lime zest.
Drizzle with the dressing.
Garnish the salad with the torn herbs and chopped peanuts. Eat within 20 minutes or so, that way the herbs don't wilt or go brown.