CUKE N' CAB SALAD

Barbequing has to be one of my favorite things to do in the summer. But summer isn't the only time to enjoy grilling, the fall has quickly become one of my favorite times to fire up the grill. A month ago I hosted a bbq in my backyard with all of the usual suspects--brats, burgers, dogs, corn on the cob. But we also added Korean bbq to the mix. We had marinated Korean short ribs, chicken bulgogi, and a number of other grill favs.

Just an hour before the bbq, I realized that many of our guests were bringing meats to be grilled and there were very few vegetarian friendly options. Grabbing all I had in the fridge I quickly threw together a quick salad recipe. This salad turned out to be at hit at the bbq party. Everybody was asking me "where did you buy this?!" It's a great side salad for any time of year and it's super easy to make. I quickly took a shot with my iphone so, my apologies for the poor camera quality here.

This salad has become one of my go-to side dishes or "banchan" (Korean side dish) when eating Korean or really any Asian food. It has notes of sesame, ginger, the snap of veggies, the tang of white wine vinegar and lemon, a little kick of chili peppers. This recipe is good for a party and doesn't need to be refrigerated ahead of time. In fact, the longer you leave it the fridge the better it will taste (with in reason).

Hope you enjoy this! Give it a shot and tweet your photos @natebaek

Cuke n' Cab Salad

2 green onions chopped

10-12 leaves (3-4 cups) of Napa cabbage sliced lengthwise, then chopped into strips

1 long cucumber quartered lengthwise, then chopped

1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger

1/2 lemon, juiced and (if you taste it and it needs more lemon, zest the half lemon)

3-4 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons of sesame oil

Cilantro Stems chopped finely: Buy a cilantro bunch at the store, and underneath the rubberband holding the cilantro together, chop the stems finely

3 Tablespoons of sesame seeds

3 Tablespoons of Korean chilli flakes (or a mild red chili of sorts - this is more for color than it is for spice)

1-2 Tablespoons of sea salt to taste

Mix all of these well until the sea salt has dissolved into the mix. You can eat it right away or refrigerate it eat later. Like I said, I think the flavor only intensifies the longer you leave it in the fridge. We put some on top of hotdogs and it was amazing.

Enjoy!

-N8