Honeydew Salad With Ginger Dressing And Peanuts Food

HONEYDEW SALAD WITH GINGER DRESSING AND PEANUTS

Steps:

• Whisk vinegar, fish sauce, ginger, and brown sugar in a large bowl to combine. Add chile and let sit 10 minutes.
• Add melon, cucumbers, and avocado and toss to coat. Transfer to a platter; top with mint and peanuts and sprinkle with salt.

CHICKEN NOODLE SALAD WITH PEANUT-GINGER DRESSING

Steps:

• To make the dressing, place the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, brown sugar, ginger, red pepper flakes, and 3 tablespoons of chicken broth together in a blender or bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin the dressing to your taste by adding more chicken broth or water.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and place pasta into a large mixing bowl.
• Add the chicken, carrots, green onions, red pepper, celery, and cilantro to the bowl with the linguine. Pour the dressing over the noodle-chicken mixture and toss until mixture is evenly coated. Divide the salad among eight serving plates, and sprinkle peanuts over each serving.

SOY-GINGER BEEF AND NOODLE SALAD WITH PEANUT DRESSING

Steps:

• For dressing:
• Combine 1 1/4 cups boiling water and tea bags and steep 5 minutes. Place peanut butter in medium bowl. Add 3/4 cup tea, soy sauce, lime juice, and cayenne. Whisk dressing to blend well. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.) Mix in watercress and mint.
• For beef:
• Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, honey, crushed red pepper, and cumin in large bowl; whisk to blend. Add beef and toss to coat. Marinate at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• For salad:
• Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again. Transfer linguine to large bowl. Mix in sesame oil. Using vegetable peeler, cut cucumber halves lengthwise into long thin ribbons; arrange on paper towels to drain.
• Drain marinade from beef into medium saucepan; boil 2 minutes over high heat. Cool. Heat grill pan or large ridged cast-iron skillet over high heat 4 minutes. Working in batches, grill beef until just brown outside but rare inside, about 1 minute per side. Transfer beef to bowl.
• Add cucumbers, green onions, and cooled marinade to linguine. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper. Arrange mint and watercress around edge of large platter. Mound noodle salad in center; top with beef. Garnish with peanuts and lime wedges.

FRUIT SALAD WITH HONEY GINGER LIME DRESSING

Steps:

• All fruit should be washed and dried before being ready for the salad.
• Cut skin from pineapple, so no brown spots are left. Cut peeled fruit into quarters lengthwise, cut off core, then dice each quarter into approximate one-inch chunks. Place in large bowl.
• Peel and remove seeds from the cantaloupe, then cut into one-inch cubes. Place in bowl with pineapple.
• Halve or quarter strawberries, depending on size, and add to bowl.
• Slice each nectarine into about 10-12 slices, then gently pull each slice away from pit and add them to the bowl.
• Cut the ends off of kiwi fruits, then insert a small spoon just under peel of each, and slide it around the fruit, just under the peel, until the peel is separated from the fruit. Cut each peeled kiwi in half lengthwise, then each half into four or five slices. Add to the rest of fruit.
• Add blueberries and blackberries to the rest of fruit. Prepare dressing (below).
• In a small bowl (I actually prefer a mason jar to shake the ingredients together in), mix together honey, lime juice and zest, ginger (I use a microplane to grate it fine), and poppy seeds. Whisk well, then pour over fruit and toss gently to coat.
• (You can prepare this salad up to a day ahead of time, but keep the different kinds of fruit separated from each other just until serving, or the colors will bleed. It tastes best at room temperature. The dressing actually tastes better made a day in advance anyway).
• TIPS ON FINDING RIPE FRUIT: For pineapple, the skin should be slightly yellow, firm to the touch but not hard--will give a little. And, when a leaf near the top of the fruit is tugged gently, it should easily remove from the fruit. For cantaloupe, it should be firm but give slightly, a bit yellowish on the rind--those "veins" are a good sign--it means they were left long enough on the ground to ripen properly. And, if you poke a fingernail in the top "dime" spot, you should be able to smell the fruit. If you can't smell anything, it's not ripe. Strawberries should be shiny and fragrant. Nectarines should have a slight give and be fragrant. Blueberries and blackberries should be firm and deeply colored. Kiwi fruit should be firm, but not rock hard--must have a very slight "give".

GINGER-PEANUT DRESSING

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl - stir until peanut butter is dissolved.
• Toss with your favorite Asian salad or slaw or use on the side.

HONEYDEW SALAD WITH LIME DRESSING

Steps:

• For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk lime juice, honey and mint until blended. Place fruit and cucumber in a large bowl; add dressing and toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving.