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FOOD | Jan 22, 2010

Going Nuts Over Spicy Salad

Nuts have many and varied uses in cooking. They are also highly nutritious — as long as you don’t deep-fry them.

Some of the most popular varieties of nuts used in cooking, baking and making ice cream are almonds, cashews, pistachios, macadamia, chestnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts and peanuts.

Almonds are originally from the Middle East. I often combine ground almond and flour, or use 100 percent almond meal, to make cookies and cakes. I also sprinkle flaked, roasted almond over salads or soups. Almonds are a rich source vitamin E and help to reduce cholesterol.

Hazelnuts are from the region of Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. The seed has a thin, dark brown skin that has bitter taste and is removed before cooking. Simply roast the nuts on medium heat for 10 minutes or until fragrant. Rub in a clean tea towel until the skin comes off. Hazelnut are extensively used in confectionery to make praline and chocolate truffles and spreads such as Nutella. They are is rich in protein and contain significant amounts of thiamine and vitamin B.

But for nuts that are readily available in Indonesia, look to cashews and peanuts. Cashew nuts are native to Brazil. The cashew nut grows inside a fruit called the cashew apple, which tastes somewhere between an apple and a water apple and is shaped like a pear. The cashew tree is related to poison ivy and the shell of the cashew nut contains a chemical that can irritate the skin. Cashews are widely used in Thai and Chinese cooking but not in Indonesian cooking.

Peanuts are native to Brazil and South America, and are perhaps the most well-known nut in Indonesia. Local cuisine has a wonderful love affair with peanuts, or ground nuts as they are sometimes called. We have many dishes that make use of these nuts, including siomay (a dish from Bandung, similar to dim sum), gado-gado (vegetable salad with peanut sauce) , karedok (raw vegetable salad), martabak manis (a thick, sweet pancake), peanut nougat with palm sugar from Java and Manado and the ubiquitous Indonesian satay sauce.

For this week’s recipe, I give you Thai-style papaya salad with cashews — although the dish can also be made with peanuts instead of cashews. Enjoy.

Thai-Style Papaya and Cashew Nut Salad

This is a refreshing salad, complemented by the crunchy cashew nuts. You can prepare it a couple of hours before serving and then refrigerate. Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving.

Salad

1 medium green unripe papaya, grated or julienned; 3 red shallots, finely sliced; 60 grams roasted cashew nuts, roughly ground; 1 handful fresh coriander leaves; 1 handful fresh mint leaves.

Dressing:

3-5 red bird’s eye chilies (ground); 1-2 cloves of garlic; 4 tablespoon of lime juice; 1 tablespoon palm sugar; 2 tablespoons fish sauce.

Method:

Make the dressing first. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the chilies and garlic with a pinch of salt. Add the palm sugar and use the pestle to grind the sugar. Put the paste into a bowl. Add the lime juice and fish sauce. Mix well. It will have a sweet, sour, spicy and salty taste. Set aside.

To assemble the salad, mix all the ingredients (set aside some mint, coriander and cashew nuts for garnish).

Arrange the salad on individual plates or in a large salad bowl, pour the dressing over and serve.

Source: JG

Indonesian Lifestyle 2008