This is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging round up. This blogging event was started by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen. The round up is hosted this week by Kalyn herself - be sure to pop by to see what other bloggers have come up with.
We tend to eat more salads in the summer - it may be because I am too damn hot to cook or it may be that there are lots of fresh ingredients to toss . . . all I know is that I am searching for more salads to make throughout the summer. Last Sunday it was Paul's turn to cook and he decided upon a stir fry that had Thai influences. We looked for a salad to try that would pair with the flavourings however we wanted something different than the usual mago salad we whip up with thai foods.
I found this recipe for a cucumber salad on the epicurious web site. It looked like just the thing for a hot summer evening. It was easy to prepare and the taste was wonderful - mom, who was over for dinner, loved it! All of the hallmark layers of Thai foods were present which made this salad explode with taste in your mouth.
Thai Cucumber Salad
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)*
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chili (about 1 large)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 English hothouse cucumbers, halved, seeded, thinly sliced
3/4 cup sliced red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts
Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Place cucumbers, onion, and mint in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.
One of the key ingredients to this recipe is the mint. Whichever way one eats it, drinks it, or prepares it, mint is an herb with many beneficial uses for good health. In fact, the reason most of our ancestors grew this pungent herb was for its many health benefits. Even today, naturalist still employ peppermint to treat gallstones, irritable bowel syndrome and the common cold.
The herb, mint, belongs to a large family with over 30 species, the most common being peppermint and spearmint.
Native to the Mediterranean and Western Asia, mints interbreed often, making it difficult for even an expert to distinguish all the varieties. All mints contain the volatile oil menthol, which gives mint that characteristic cooling, cleansing feeling.
The Greeks believed mints could clear the voice and cure hiccups. In fact, mint is part of Greek mythology and according to legend - "Menthe" originally a nymph, and Pluto's lover angered Pluto's wife, Persephone, who in a fit of rage turned Minthe into a lowly plant, to be trod upon. Pluto, unable to undo the spell, was able to soften it by giving Minthe a sweet scent, which would perfume the air when her leaves were stepped on - thus aromatic herb Mint.
Mint is a perennial and its seeds can be sowed in flats or in the ground. Once the tenacious herbs take hold in your garden, it is very easy to propagate them by cuttings and transplanting once the root system is well established. Mint needs humid soil and only moderate sunshine. It will grow in, out and around all garden plants, not unlike a weed, this herb is tenacious and dedicated to spreading through the garden. The trick is to continuously cut it back and restrict growth. Otherwise this herb will spread like wild fire through your garden in the form of strong willed runners. Frequently cutting or mowing of large plots will keep mints at their prettiest. In late fall, cut back to the ground and mulch if winters are severe. Roses make good companion plants.
Mint can be grown in pots and planted with other herbs. And according to legend this is a good herb for keeping ants away from doors and combating mice and fleas. I have a pot growing near the front door - as people brush against the leaves the fresh scent is released.
It looks so delicious! I’ll try this recipe soon. Thanks! I mostly eat salads and cold or room temperature dishes in the summer. My sister-in-law is from Thailand and is a chef. She makes the most delicious beef salad. She also makes a tasty sardine salad. Not for everyone but I’m of Italian and Spanish heritage so I eat sardines and anchovies.
I love reading your blog, Jerry!
Posted by: María I. | June 27, 2008 at 12:20 PM
I absolutely hate cucumbers and cannot digest them at all, but I LOVE the bowl!!!
Posted by: Palma | June 27, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Maria - thanks! You are so lucky to have a chef int he fmaily. I am jealous. But a thai chefr - ARGH
Palma - I shall add that to the list of things NOT to serve if you ever find Canada on a map.
Posted by: Jerry | June 28, 2008 at 07:14 AM
What a great post for WHB! I love the sound of this salad too, and I have lots of mint (I should say LOTS of mint!)
Posted by: Kalyn | June 29, 2008 at 05:01 PM
Kalyn - that is why we only ever plant our mint in pots . . . it does tend to take over the place! *smile*
Posted by: Jerry | June 30, 2008 at 07:15 AM
Sounds delicious. I freak out whenever I run out of fish sauce.
Posted by: Jude | July 01, 2008 at 11:02 PM
We plant mint down by the pool and it makes great ground cover and smells heavenly! It does take over everything...
How hot is this salad? I like things mildly hot, but I do like Thai flavors...what changes would you make for someone who isn't really all that into very spicy? Just thought I would ask...the recipe looks great.
Posted by: Kayte | July 12, 2008 at 11:30 AM
I've been using a lot of mint lately - even made a risotto with pease and mint the other day. YUM
I didn't find the salad hot at all - the jalapenos we get up here at this time of year have a mild heat. Unfortunately, the only well to tell if a pepper is hot before you use it is to eat a bit - OUCH - this can lead to some excitment I have discovered. *smile*
Actually - mom was here for dinenr that night and she didn't find it hot at all either so it must have been OK. You could always cut back a bit if you were worried.
Posted by: Jerry | July 12, 2008 at 08:56 PM
It wasn't bad at all...I just added a little and then tasted and then added a little more and thought, "Okay, time to stop." It was refreshing and great...thanks!
Posted by: Kayte | July 30, 2008 at 06:55 PM
That's is the way to do it Kayte - experiment and play with the recipe to make it work for you. It is rare for me to follow recipes verbatum!
Posted by: Jerry | August 01, 2008 at 06:00 AM
Its really great.....I tried it. and make this again.
Posted by: nursery plants | October 20, 2009 at 11:26 AM
Jerry, would you mind if I "borrowed" your mint photo to use for a guidebook that I'm trying to put together for our local botanical garden? (It will be just an informal sort of brochure that kids and their parents can use to help identify plants as they walk through the garden.)
Posted by: Janice Black | August 26, 2011 at 05:26 PM
go ahead janice!
Posted by: JDeQ | August 26, 2011 at 06:14 PM