Spicy daikon-oroshi salad

1. Grate daikon (mooli) and heap up on a small platter.
2. For the dressing: mix dry chilli flakes,  garlic powder, fish sauce, soya sauce,  Chunking vinegar, chopped scallions, and toasted sesame oil.
3. Tip the dressing on the daikon heap. Serve.

Lietuva salad - the latest in culinary nationalism

henever I try to cook Russian, my uncertain memories of what it should taste like tend to mix with the mishmash layers of culinary influences I have accumulated through the decades of living away from my erstwhile mothership. I don’t even know if any Russian actually eats it but for me this particular salad contains all the edible staples of Russianness so many are busy resurrecting these days: turnips, carrots, linen seed.

Ironically, it goes by the name of Lietuva salad because it also happens to be of the same colours as the Lithuanian flag. In fact, I am planning on suggesting the Lithuanian embassy here to adopt it as their national dish, kind of like Colombians did with their bandeja paisa.

 

Since I started my 5:2 regimen half year ago I find myself making it every now and then. First of all, it is super easy to make. Then it does contain both a modest quantity of easily digestible calories as well as a lot of crude fibre to help stave off hunger on my fast days. And, last but not least, it does taste mighty good, especially considering the bare minimum of the effort and cost it requires.

So here how it goes:

1. Grate some turnip and a couple of carrots.
2. Chop some parsley
3. Add some linen seed, a sprinkle of fleur de sel and a dash of pumpkin seed oil.
4. Mix vigorously by hand squeezing the juices.
5. Serve with a piece of rye bread.

Duck magret salad recipe (Salade de magret de canard)

If I have to choose between travelling to Israel and eating a salad made from ducks force-fed on corn, I go for the latter. Defo much less cruelty supported.

1. Pat a magret dry and wallow it in a mix of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
   
   
2. Heat a frying pan on medium high heat
   

Japanese yuzu dressing recipe (柚子ドレッシング)

uzu is an East Asian citrus fruit whose fresh aroma can spruce up the most boring dish. One way to make use of its invigorating flavour is in a salad dressing. Unless your local Asian grocer stocks fresh fruit, feel free to substitute it with a more readily available yuzu vinegar. Lime is an okay substitute but the flavour just won't be the same.

• 2 tbsps yuzu juice or yuzu vinegar
• 2 tbsps soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• optional: 4 tbsps vegetable oil - plain sunflower or, for an extra punch, sesame

Shake the ingredients vigorously in a jar until completely homogeneous. Pour over salad right before serving.

Indonesian gado-gado: tempeh and veg salad with peanut sauce

his is what you can make with tempeh: gado-gado, a real Indonesian staple. It can be served as a main dish or a side. First time I tried it in the Sumatran hinterland. It dominated our lunch although there were many other dishes. The combination of crunchy, soft and chewy ingredients and the spicy-sweet aromatic sauce won me over in an instant. Once we stood up from the meal, the bill was served: 50 cent a head.

Gado-gado stands for "mix-mix" in Bahasa Indonesia so nearly anything goes into it. That said, certain things never do: e.g., tomatoes, croutons or ruccola. I prefer to improvise within the limits that Indonesian themselves find acceptable. This time I made it with

• blanched pak choy,
  
• blanched carrot,
  
• a boiled egg,
  
• fried tempeh (the crucial ingredient for me as it is so quintessentially Indonesian!)
  
• raw or blanched bean sprouts.
  

You can also use

• diced boiled potatoes,
  
• raw or blanched lettuce,
  
• blanched string beans,
  
• fried onions,
  
• blanched bean sprouts

without straying a bit from authenticity. Indonesians put them all in gado-gado.

Normally gado-gado is drenched with peanut sauce but I also have it with just sambal manis, as on the picture. Instant peanut sauce, sambal pecel, as in the picture below is available in most ethnic groceries in Amsterdam but I yet have to track it down in London. You only need to dissolve it in hot water or coconut milk. I also add some crushed lemon grass, shredded kaffir lime leaves and galangal powder. Making your own is not complicated but you need to line up all the right ingredients. I will post the recipe when I get around to that (feel free to prod me!).

Serve gado-gado with freshly cooked long-grain rice.

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Spruce up your diet with my vegetarian recipes from all over the world!

Russian beet and sour cream salad

Simple and delicious, this is a quick Russian salad: sliced beets, sour cream and some salt to create a delightful balance of tastes.

Panchan: Korean side dishes (반찬)

Korea may be wedged between China and Japan but its culinary tradition is distinctively different from its neighbouring countries.

Cucumber namul (warm salad), kimchi (Peking cabbage pickled in red pepper) and pickled bamboo shoots are staples of Korean cuisine. They are eaten in the beginning of the meal, a starter equivalent.