Karl’s Asian Salad for a Crowd

Jan, my wife, is an anthropologist at SJSU. When she can, she arranges for her students to do “real world” projects for their assignments. This semester, she will be and her students will be part of a team, organized by NUMU Los Gatos, interviewing relocated American Indians who live in the South Bay. Having moved to the city—from the reservations in the 1950s, ‘60s, and 70s—their stories will soon be lost to history, if they are not recorded now.

Karl’s Asian Salad for a Crowd

Note: This group prefers to be called American Indians, not Native Americans. As was explained to my wife, all of the governmental laws and protections are written in those terms. If they started to call themselves something else they might forget—or lose—rights and protections that pertain to being an “American Indian.”

As a start to this project, the museum is hosting a pot luck to introduce the students and to bring the friends of the community together. Jan, of course, volunteered me to cook for the potluck. In addition to a big pot of ham and beans, I made an Asian salad.

Karl’s Asian Salad for a Crowd

Ingredients

Dressing

¼ cup peanut oil
2½ Tbs. rice vinegar
2½ Tbs. hot water
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 tsp. black vinegar
½ Tbs. Chinese mustard powder
½ tsp. ginger, powdered
½ tsp. Chinese 5 Spice
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. onion powder
⅛ tsp. white pepper
⅛ tsp. Kosher salt

Salad

7-8 cups Napa cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 cups Mung bean sprouts
1 cup sugar snap peas, cut in half
1 cup red cabbage, shredded
¼ red onion, sliced thinly
6 Mandarin oranges, peeled and broken into segments
6 green onions, sliced finely
6 inch piece daikon radish, quartered and sliced thinly
4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
3 carrots, roll cut
3 Persian cucumbers, roll cut
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Place all of the dressing ingredients in a small, lidded jar and shake well.

2. Let the dressing meld for 15-10 minutes, shaking every few minutes.

3. Save out a few pieces of the red onion, Mandarin orange segments, green onions, celery, carrots, cucumbers, and bell pepper as garnish.

4. Place the rest of the salad ingredients into a large bowl and toss together.

5. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.

6. Garnish with the remaining vegetables and serve.