Asian Cucumber Salad

If you love papaya salad, then you will most definitely, LOVE this cucumber salad! It's easy, fresh, and takes little time to prepare! It's a little salty, tangy, and suuuuper spicy! Of course, you can control just how spicy you like it, but I say...GO BIG, OR GO HOME.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large cucumbers sliced julienne (about 14 ounces)

2 small pieces of garlic

2-20 red Thai chili peppers

1/2 tsp of chili flakes

1/4 tsp of shrimp paste

1 Tbsp of liquid prahok

1 Tbsp of good fish sauce

1/2 Tbsp of sugar

1 whole lime PLUS a half

cherry tomatoes, halved

mortar and pestle

msg (optional)


INSTRUCTIONS:

Place your garlic cloves into your mortar and begin to smash them, just until you can easily remove the peel. Add in your chili peppers, chili flakes, and shrimp paste, and pound them until you've created a paste. Add in your tomatoes, and gently pound them until you've released most of the juices from them. Add in your prahok, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and msg. Add in your cucumbers, and gently pound it, until combined. Adjust seasoning as needed. Serve immediately!

Spicy Summer Mango Salad

Mango salad is just perfect for a nice and sunny day like today... but then again, ANYTHING over 50 degrees is NICE here in Washington. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and if you drive down to the Tacoma Waterfront, you can catch a glimpse of women in tight booty shorts, sporting sunglasses with a G logo on them(G for GUESS not GUCCI), pushing their strollers, on a man hunt for perspective baby daddies. Ah, yes, that's when you know...SUMMER HAS ALMOST ARRIVED.

I know some people like to make mango salad the same way that you would make papaya salad, but come on now, if I wanted papaya salad then I would MAKE PAPAYA SALAD, right? This side dish is easy, breezy, and tastes wonderful on a hot day cause it's so fresh and definitely satisfying.

You will need:

2 pds of green mango sliced julienne( I used 3 green mangos for this recipe)

2 carrots sliced julienne 

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup of chopped green onion(more for garnish)
Chopped fresh chili to taste( I used 4 of them cause I like it spicy)

1/4 cup of chives cut into 1-1/2 inch strips

1 1/2 T of fish sauce

1/2 tsp of salt

1 T of sugar

2 T of water

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate for 1 hr. Taste check and see if it's to your liking. I actually ended up adding a few more pinches of sugar but that's my own personal preference. Tastes great with most fish dishes like the recipe I posted on here or with baked/fried fish. I like to eat it plain sometimes with just rice and it's still good! Also feel free to add fresh herbs if you have it like cilantro, parsley, or mint. 

Notes: You can find most julienne peelers at some supermarkets and Asian markets. My julienne peeler is stainless steel and is manufactured by Kuhn Rikon which I purchased from Amazon.com.