Studies performed by Science have shown that salads improve by about 30 to 40% with the introduction of crunch through, for example, croutons or sunflower seeds or, perhaps, wasabi peas.
Wasabi: It cleanses the palate and serves as a metaphor for post-war nuclear paranoia.
Typically, wasabi cleanses the palate after sushi rolls, so maybe a good way to make use of it is to approximate sushi in salad form.
I steamed four of five fronds of alaria for a good while–at least twenty minutes, maybe as long as half of an hour, until they had lost enough of their toughness to be pleasantly malleable. Meanwhile, I chopped about a cup and a half of lettuce and a quarter cup of smoked salmon, and stir fried five or six shiitake mushrooms, then chopped the alaria into small pieces and mixed everything together, throwing in the wasabi peas to make a very pretty dish.
The prettiest salads hide the angriest wasabi.
If you are like me, you will want many, many wasabi peas. Perhaps you will experience some slight regret as the horseradish sensation climbs up your throat into the back of your nose, where it buzzes angrily for several moments, but then you remember that you enjoy this and it’ll all be fine. But maybe if you intend to share this with friends, you should go light on the peas and keep some extras around so people can feel free to wimp out.
Hey, wasabi and mushrooms? Sounds awesome, especially since I have chosen to conceptually link wasabi to Godzilla.
Salad Blog: Nostalgia Edition
Last year in England, my friend Takumi K. would share his Japanese salad dressing with me; it brightened even the dreariest of British meals on even the bleariest of British days. I miss the man and his dressing, so thought I’d try my hand at recreating it.
Ingredients:
2 to 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Note: Apparently, this typically calls for white, crushed sesame seeds. I had black, uncrushed sesame seeds. It was delicious. Deal.
Method:
Combine everything but the oil in a small bowl and mix thoroughly, then slowly spoon the oil and keep mixing it up. Makes two servings.
After crunch, color is possibly the most important factor in salad goodness.
I miss you, Takumi, you and your dressings both. But we’ll always have Paris, and maybe that is enough.
Tags: Alaria, Boston Lettuce, Godzilla!, Rice Wine Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Sesame Seeds, Shiitake Mushrooms, Smoked Salmon, Soy Sauce, Wasabi Peas
