Recipe: Summer Corn and Edamame Salad

Summer Corn and Edamame Salad
with Walnut-Miso Dressing

Serves 6 to 8

Corn and Edamame Salad Tangy rice vinegar and sweet and salty miso are wonderful counterpoints to the smoky, nutty character of the toasted walnuts in the salad. Minced red onion lends a pungent note on the finish. While edamame are perfect for this dish and are usually available in the frozen foods section of your market, you can also use equal parts coarsely chopped yellow and green beans as an alternative.

2 ears yellow corn, grilled or steamed
1/4 cup shiro-miso (white miso)
1/4 cup mirin (sweet sake)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
or ginger juice (see page 22 of the book)
1/3 cup walnut halves, toasted and ground (see note below),
plus 4 to 6 walnut halves, toasted and crushed (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Three 14-ounce bags frozen edamame, steamed and shelled (about 3 cups)
1/4 small red onion, minced

Using a large, sharp knife, cut the kernels from the ears of corn. You should have about 1 cup of kernels. In a large salad bowl, whisk together the shiro-miso, mirin, rice vinegar, and ginger until smooth. Add the ground walnuts and oil and stir until well combined. Add the edamame and corn kernels and toss. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the crushed walnuts (if using) and the red onion.

NOTE: To toast walnuts, follow the instructions for toasting sesame seeds (see page 25 of the book). To grind the toasted walnuts, put the walnut halves in a mini food processor and pulse until fine. Put the ground nuts in a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and shake the sieve as you would to sift flour. Any walnut pieces left behind in the sieve should be processed in the food processor again. Repeat as many times as necessary to achieve a powder consistency.

Buy the Book!

from:
The Asian Grill
Corinne Trang
Chronicle Books
Paperback; $22.95
168 pages with full-color illustrations throughout
ISBN: 0-8118-4631-8
Recipe reprinted by permission.