Tricolor salad
Cucumber and tomato salad with mozzarella cheese

Everyone seems to have a few "emergency" menu items that she has cooked so many times in the past that it can be put together almost blindfolded. My mom makes a simple-yet-amazing sauted oyster and cabbage dish with butter and salt. A friend of mine, Kazuko, can wow crowds at a home party by whipping up a plate of chicken wings, mildly flavored with sake and soy sauce with a hint of ginger. Here I introduce a tricolor salad, made with tomato, cucumber, mozzarella cheese, and a sesame oil dressing. I love that the salad adds color to the table, yet never looks boring. It's simple to prepare and has been well-received by friends and family.
In Japan, I used to make this salad with a chopped boiled egg or well-drained tofu, as fresh mozzarella cheese can be pricey and is not an everyday cooking ingredient there. I started experimenting and substituting fresh mozzarella cheese into my cooking after I started living in NYC, where a wide range of fresh cheeses are readily available at many grocery stores (such as East Village Cheese, Zabar's, Fairway, Chelsea Market, and several farmers' markets).
Sesame oil is the key to this salad; it complements and mildly wraps up all the ingredients. Available at Asian grocery stores or in the Asian food sections of regular supermarkets, sesame oil is a standard seasoning used in Chinese cooking. While Japanese cooking uses little oil in food preparation in general, it is used for a variety of purposes in the Japanese kitchen. Just a dash of sesame oil does a good job in adding a last touch of nutty flavor and scent to a meal, and is typically used with pot-stickers, pan-fried veggies, or tofu dishes. Being such a convenient seasoning, a little amount emphasizes the whole taste, it is sometimes referred as kakushi-aji ("secret flavoring"). Try it - it might add something special to your emergency menu, too!

Written by Aya Akeura
A member of TranNet and freelance translator based in USA

HOW TO MAKE TRICOLOR SALAD
♦ INGREDIENTS (Serves 2-3)
2 medium tomatoes
2 Japanese cucumbers (long and slender)
4 oz* fresh mozzarella cheese
* About 120 g
If using a thick cucumber, one will be enough.
If fresh mozzarella cheese is unavailable, a chopped boiled egg, or well-drained and cubed tofu, can be substituted.
♦ Dressing
3 T Sesame oil
3 T Rice vinegar
2 T Soy sauce
2 t Sugar
1/2 t Salt
Lemon juice and honey to taste

♦ How to make
1. Cut tomatoes crosswise first, remove seeds and excessive juice, and cut into bite-size pieces.
2. Peel the cucumber, leaving thin strips of the green color.
(If using large, thick cucumbers, cut lengthwise into four to remove seeds.)
Cut into bite-size pieces.
3. Cut fresh mozzarella cheese into 1/2-inch cubes.
Combine in a bowl with ingredients from steps 1 and 2.
4. Mix sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and salt to create dressing.
Add lemon juice or honey to your individual taste.
5. Pour dressing over vegetables from step 3, toss well, and serve.

A large, large dream.......

A dream that seems unrealizable.......

A dream that seems unreachable.......

Thas's why it's worth being realized.

Calligraphy and Poetry by Souun Takeda
Translated by Kazuo Kawamura and W.I. Eliotte
Copyright(C) 2006 Souun Takeda
"Tanoshika" Published by Diamond, inc.