Salad adventures: A Malaysian dish echoes an old French favorite - Food Guide

Sunset, May, 2002 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

The siren song of travel for me is discovering new foods. However, the more I roam, the more I'm amazed by the similarity of specialties that have emerged with seeming spontaneity continents apart. Take salad nicoise, for instance, which hails from the Cote d'Azur in southern France: It has tuna at its heart, surrounded by cold potatoes, green beans, and hard-cooked eggs, all drenched with olive oil and vinegar. In Malaysia recently, as I munched through various local gado gado salads, it dawned on me that, despite the fact that the protein core was usually chicken or shrimp instead of tuna, and the dressing was a thick, spicy peanut-based sauce, many of the other ingredients on the plate were the same as for salad nicoise. Granted, gado gado (dressing and salad go by the same name) sounds more exotic and exciting, but the adventure of this dish is in tweaking familiar ingredients for a refreshing change.

Gado Gado Salad

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 hour and 20 minutes

NOTES: Buy a roast chicken from a deli, chill, and tear into strips.
Cooking the potatoes slowly preserves their texture and keeps them from
splitting; you can prepare the remaining ingredients and the dressing
while they cook. Or, if time is short, sprinkle all the crisp shallots
over salads and use a purchased Asian-style peanut sauce instead of the
gado gado dressing; thin, if desired, with chicken broth or coconut
milk.

MAKES: 4 main-course, 8 first-course servings

4 thin-skinned potatoes (4 oz. each), scrubbed
8 ounces green beans, rinsed and ends trimmed
1 cup sliced (1/4 in. thick) English cucumber
2 cups matchstick slivers jicama or 2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed
1 cup long, thin carrot shreds
2 hard-cooked large eggs, shelled and quartered lengthwise
2 cups thin strips cooked boned, skinned chicken (see notes)
2 cups watercress sprigs, rinsed and crisped
  Crisp shallots and gado gado dressing (recipes follow)
2 limes (about 3 oz. each), rinsed and halved or quartered
  Salt

1. Put potatoes in a 2- to 3-quart pan and cover with about 1 inch of water. Bring just to a simmer over high heat, then cover, reduce heat to low, and cook, without letting water bubble, until potatoes are tender when pierced, about 50 minutes. Drain and immerse in cold water until lukewarm, about 5 minutes, or let stand at room temperature until warm, about 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices.

2. Meanwhile, in another 2- to 3-quart pan over high heat, bring about 1 quart water to a boil. Add green beans and cook until tender to bite, 3 to 6 minutes. Drain and immerse immediately in ice water until cool, about 2 minutes; drain again.

3. On dinner plates, arrange equal portions of potato slices, green beans, cucumber, jicama, carrot, eggs, chicken, watercress, and limes. Scatter crisp shallots equally over salads. Spoon gado gado dressing over salads and add salt and juice from limes to taste.

Per serving: 555 cal., 45% (252 cal.) from fat; 33 g protein; 28 g fat (9.3 g sat.); 49 g carbo (8.7 g fiber); 1,000 mg sodium; 200 mg chol.

Crisp Shallots and Gado Gado Dressing. In an 8- to 10-inch frying pan, combine 3 tablespoons salad oil and 3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots. Stir frequently over high heat until shallots are well browned, 6 to 8 minutes; lift from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add about 1/3 cup chopped fresh jalapeno chilies (with seeds for maximum heat), 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds to pan; stir often until chilies are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a food processor. Add about 2 tablespoons crisp shallots, 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel, 1 teaspoon anchovy paste, 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup lime juice, and 2/3 cup chunky-style peanut butter; whirl until ingredients are well mixed. Add 1 cup canned coconut milk (reduced fat or regular; stir before using) and whirl until well blended. Use, or cover and chill up to 1 week. Makes 2 1/2 cups; allow 1/4 to 1/2 cup per serving.

Just loafing around

If meat loaf means winter to you, think again, especially if you fancy meat loaf sandwiches. This time of year, start with ground turkey instead of beef, then add tropical jerk flavors from the Caribbean, and finally, swathe the loaf in thin slices of prosciutto. Enhanced like this, with very little effort, meat loaf becomes a classy terrine. And even though it's easy enough for a family supper, it also suits a party picnic or garden brunch.

Jerk-spiced Turkey Picnic Loaf

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 1/2 hours

NOTES: Serve the loaf hot, at room temperature, or chilled: After
inverting, lay a few bay leaves on top and sprinkle with peppercorns;
surround with marinated mild red peppers. Serve slices of the loaf
with a sweet-hot mustard and crusty bread. You can make the loaf up
to 3 days ahead; after unmolding, cover and chill.

MAKES: 8 servings

   8 ounces mushrooms, rinsed, drained, and finely chopped
   1 onion (8 oz.), peeled and finely chopped About 2
     tablespoons salad oil
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
   3 tablespoons cider or distilled white vinegar
   2 tablespoons molasses
 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
11/2 pounds ground turkey (breast or a combination of breast and
     dark meat)
 1/2 cup fat-skimmed chicken broth
   1 large egg
 3/4 cup drained pickled cocktail onions, each cut in half
     About 6 ounces paper-thin slices prosciutto