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shredded

1 medium-size carrot, peeled and

diced

½ red bell pepper, seeded and

diced

½ cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

1 teaspoon soy sauce, or to taste

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Squeeze of ½ lime

1 glug of your favorite hot sauce

Salt

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

Place the vegetables in a bowl and stir to combine. Into another bowl, pour the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, and hot sauce and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning; you’re looking for a balance of pungent, salty, sweet, and spicy. Adjust as needed, tinkering gradually.

Pour over the vegetables and mix until well combined. Allow to marinate for at least 45 minutes before serving. The flavor improves with time.

Makes 4 servings

SESAME RICE NOODLES & MELON-HERB SALAD

This is my take on pasta salad, using no-cook Asian rice noodles, lots of fruit, and herbs. It’s about as close to raw food as you’ll get in this collection, the gist being cool food for the doggiest days of summer. While the noodles soak and soften, the melon, red onion, and cukes marinate in their respective baths. When everything comes together, it reminds me of a deconstructed Vietnamese salad roll, with cooling herbs and chopped peanuts.

KITCHEN NOTES: This is a multibowl affair: In addition to a large serving bowl for the entire salad, you’ll need smaller bowls for preparing the cucumbers, melon, onions, and sauce. The salad should be eaten shortly after it’s assembled; the herbs and melon are highly perishable and look mangy the next day.

Asian rice noodles come in a variety of sizes but even among the same type of noodle, packaging may greatly vary by weight. Soaked noodles will expand to four times their weight in volume.

There are many kinds of Chinese rice wine, but the amber-colored Shaoxing is my favorite. White rice wine will do the job; use pale dry sherry if you can’t find rice wine of any kind. Do not use rice wine vinegar.

Make It a Meal

Is your appetite bigger tonight than anticipated? Consider a versatile side to round out your plate. Mix-and-matching encouraged! See Make It a Meal sidebar on page 26.

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces flat rice noodles

(available in many

conventional supermarkets

and at Asian groceries; also

sold as rice sticks)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon granulated or light

brown sugar, plus more for

sprinkling

5 tablespoons lime juice (from

about 1½ limes)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

¾ teaspoon salt

1 medium-size cucumber, peeled,

seeded and sliced into half-

moons (about 1½ cups)

¼ cup Chinese rice wine,

preferably Shaoxing

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ red onion, sliced into very thin

half-moons

4 cups cantaloupe and/or

watermelon, peeled and cut

into 1- to 2-inch chunks

(similar in size to the cukes)

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

finely

1 cup fresh mint leaves, stemmed

and chopped finely

10 to 12 fresh basil leaves, sliced

into a chiffonade

½ cup unsalted peanuts, chopped

roughly (optional garnish)

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

Soak the rice noodles in very hot, but not boiling, water for 30 minutes, until pliable, followed by a rinse under cold water. Drain thoroughly. If possible, dry the noodles in a salad spinner; the drier the noodles, the better. Transfer to a bowl large enough for the entire salad.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil, the vegetable oil, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Whisk with a fork until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

Pour the sauce all over the noodles, and with tongs, turn until the noodles are evenly coated.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the cucumber, rice wine, red pepper flakes, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and the remaining sesame oil, and stir well. Allow to marinate for about 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix red onion with 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, and allow the onions to macerate and mellow, 10 to 15 minutes.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the melon, a sprinkling of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of