The sun has finally made an appearance in Seattle! Seems like we are always the last one to get sun – it’s a welcome change from all the rain! When the weather changes, I find my appetite also changes and I crave simpler foods, including more fruit and salads. Many years ago, while working in Tokyo, one of our regular lunch venues was a little restaurant that made a wonderful spaghetti salad. In a ramen bowl they would heap a mound of spaghetti, topped with various fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce celery, add slices of boiled egg and some ham. It came with a soy sauce based dressing and they garnished it with squeezed Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise formed into a pretty patterns. Compared to American mayonnaise such as Hellman’s, I find Japanese style mayonnaise has a stronger egg flavor and is slightly more tart. Over the years, I’ve copied this Japanese pasta salad, creating my own version with whatever was on hand. Sometimes I used different shapes of pasta instead of spaghetti, but it’s so basic, you really can’t go wrong. Recently I’m into more herbs, so here I used a bunch of fresh parsley and coriander. What will you put in your pasta salad?
Japanese Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
- Boiled spaghetti or pasta
- tomatoes
- peppers
- fresh coriander/cilantro
- fresh Italian parsley
- canned tuna
- Kewpie Mayonnaise
Asian Dressing
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup sushi vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon ginger juice
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Photo: Pixabay
