Vegetable Slaw with Creamy Asian Dressing

Name: Vegetable Slaw with Creamy Asian Dressing
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients: 1/4 cup mayonnaise (page 282); 2 tablespoons rice vinegar; 1 tablespoon mirin; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; Juice of 1 lemon; 1 small jalapeño chile, seeded and very finely chopped; 1/2 English (hothouse) cucumber, partially peeled (to form vertical stripes of green peel and white flesh); 1/4 small head red cabbage, cored and very finely shredded; 1/4 small head napa (Chinese) cabbage, very finely shredded; 4 red, icicle, or French Breakfast radishes, trimmed and very thinly sliced; 2 carrots, grated; 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips; 2 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons sesame seed, preferably black; Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

December 9, 2011

Except for the mayonnaise, this Asian-inspired slaw is very un-Southern. The combination of flavors and colors makes a grand addition to any summer picnic. Mirin is a sweet, low-alcohol rice wine, essentially “cooking sake.” Believe it or not, soy sauce actually did make it into Meme’s kitchen. She was once featured in an article in the local newspaper, and, I suppose, thinking her simple country recipes were not appropriate for the “big time,” she included a recipe for her stir-fry. It was a combination of broccoli, carrots, and snow peas, with soy sauce as a seasoning. The recipe might have been “exotic” back then, but Meme’s stir-fry technique was pure South: the vegetables cooked for a very un-stir-fry length of time—20 minutes!

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