KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — A little trip can offer much inspiration.
Be it a short one to the neighbourhood farmer’s market, where fresh produce abounds, or a vacation to farther shores, where the foods might be less familiar (and more fermented, as you will see), new ingredients can mean new dishes for the weekend table.
These are my most recent inspirations:
A punnet of heirloom cherry tomatoes, their skins taut and sun-warm. A single ripe avocado that yields gently under the thumb.
Small jars of Japanese pickles in the refrigerator, waiting patiently for their turn on the chopping board. On the counter, a few feathery sprigs of dill stand in a glass of water, fresh from the garden this morning.
Not all of these ingredients belong to the same culinary tradition or even the same recipe book, I guess.
But who can say that they shouldn’t be paired together? There is something deeply satisfying about allowing them to meet, to allow their flavours to marry.
This salad of avocado, heirloom tomatoes and pickles borrows freely from various worlds: the freshness of market produce, the savoury sharpness of Japanese preserved foods, and the herbaceous brightness of what was just snipped from one’s own garden.
The result is, perhaps not surprisingly, an explosion of different flavours and textures.
The tomatoes burst sweetly against the salt and tang of the pickles. Creamy avocado softens the edges.
Aromatic sesame-studded goma sauce and Japanese mayonnaise lend body to the dressing while lemon zest sharpens everything into focus.
Finally the nearly forgotten sprigs of fresh dill — green, fragrant and unexpectedly the very ingredient to bind everything together.
Serve it cold, ideally not long after tossing, while the tomatoes still hold their shape and the avocado remains silky rather than fully absorbed into the dressing.
This salad, you could say, is a little farmer’s market, a little Kyoto... and absolutely full of contrast and crunch. Why not try it today?
A SALAD OF AVOCADO, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES & JAPANESE PICKLES
In this salad, the highlight for me are the Japanese pickles.
The shibazuke, which hails from Kyoto, combines chopped cucumbers and eggplant that are then salted and brined together with red shiso leaves. The gari is the instantly recognisable thinly sliced pickled ginger.
Both pickles behave almost like seasoning rather than bulk ingredients. The shibazuke brings crunch and salinity; the gari contributes sweetness and warmth.
Together, they transform what might otherwise have been a simple tomato-and-avocado salad into something more layered. Something, I believe, more intriguing, their flavours more delicate.
Ingredients
1 punnet heirloom cherry tomatoes, roughly sliced
2 tablespoons shibazuke, finely chopped
2 tablespoons gari, finely chopped
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
2 tablespoons shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
2 tablespoons goma (sesame seed sauce)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Japanese mayonnaise
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh dill, for garnish
Method
Begin by roughly slicing the heirloom cherry tomatoes; their uneven edges and escaping juices are part of the charm here.
Finely chop the shibazuke and gari until the pickles are small enough to mingle easily with the softer ingredients rather than dominate them. Transfer everything to a large mixing bowl.
Halve the avocado, remove the seed and gently cut the flesh into cubes before adding them to the tomatoes and pickles.
The avocado should be ripe enough to yield easily but still firm enough to hold its shape once tossed.
Add the shoyu, goma sauce, sesame oil and Japanese mayonnaise, followed by the lemon juice and zest.
Toss everything together carefully but thoroughly, ensuring the creamy dressing coats every piece without turning the avocado mushy.
Finish with a generous grinding of black pepper.
Snip and scatter fresh dill over the salad just before serving. Best enjoyed immediately.
