Last chance tomatoes in a Burmese-style salad
Supposedly, summer bade us farewell several days ago.
The signs are all there: the sun dips lower in the sky, shadows lengthen,聽and the occasional nip in the air gently reminds me that summer is winding down and autumn is nudging its way in.
However, all around me, nature is playing tricks on me. Blackberries still peek out from their brambly bushes. The Seattle sky remains clear and blue, with daytime temps lingering in the 70s. And the tomatoes in my dad鈥檚 garden continue to grow plump and heavy on the vine, their green hue merging into red.
Don鈥檛 get me wrong, I鈥檓 not complaining. I鈥檓 relishing each day I can still bare my legs and zip out the door without a coat on. And with every satay stick I grill on the barbecue, I鈥檓 hoping it won鈥檛 be my last just yet.
This past Saturday, we took a ferry across the聽聽and spent a sunny day in聽聽where we ate fish and chips al fresco and my son chased seagulls around the marina. The next day, I turned my dad鈥檚 ripe tomatoes into a refreshing Burmese-style salad. It was a lovely way to commit the last flavors of summer to my taste memory.
Truth be told, I鈥檓 not ready to say goodbye.
And you, how are you stocking up on summery memories?
Burmese-Style Tomato Salad
This tomato salad is loosely based on a聽Burmese salad Alvina Mangrai once made for me. She聽is one of those amazing women. Alvina is my friend Manda鈥檚 mom. She migrated from Burma in 1972 and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.聽Her salad comprised聽shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, lime juice, dried shrimp powder, fried garlic, and the fragrant oil leftover from frying the garlic. I took a few liberties, borrowing some ideas from聽. Because I already had store-bought fried garlic bits in my pantry (and yes, because I鈥檓 lazy) that鈥檚 what I used. But I can vouch for the deliciousness of frying your own..
Time: 10 minutes
Makes: 4 to 6 servings
2 tablespoons lemongrass vinegar
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon fish sauce
3 medium tomatoes, cut into crescents
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 small sweet onion, cut into thin crescents, soaked in water for 30 minutes to tame its bite
1 tablespoon fried garlic, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon fried onions, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon roasted pistachios (preferably unsalted), crushed, plus more for garnish
Chopped cilantro for garnish
In a large salad bowl, whisk the lemongrass vinegar, canola oil, and fish sauce together vigorously. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Sprinkle with fried garlic, fried onions, pistachios, and cilantro, with or without abandon. Serve.
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