Cold as a Cuke

My colleague, K., has what sounds like an expansive, tantalizing array of vegetables growing in her garden. So, when she offered to offload some of her bounty of homegrown cucumbers, I was not one to refuse.

During these hot spells that we've been enjoying in Oxford, these cukes have been the perfect refreshing component to many dishes. The other day I came upon a particularly good pairing--'Singapore Noodles' and pickled cucumbers. The 'Singapore Noodles' are entre guillemets because this dish was more of a quick, easy exercise in clearing out the remains of the crisper and making a dent in my profusion of condiments than an attempt to follow a recipe. This is a veggie interpretation, but the traditional preparation uses roasted pork and vermicelli noodles.

For the pickled cucumbers:

1 small cucumber, peeled (seeded or unseeded, up to you) and thinly sliced
1 tsp. chili paste (sambal oelek or the like)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
3 Tbs. rice wine vinegar

Combine all of the above in a shallow bowl, cover and chill for at least one hour.

My 'Singapore Noodles':
SAUCE
1/2-inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tbs. chili paste (to taste)
1 Tbs. low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbs. fish sauce (nam pla)
1 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. palm sugar (caster will work, too)

EVERYTHING ELSE
7 oz. (half of one bag) rice noodles (vermicelli or Banh Pho)
1 Tbs. vegetable or peanut oil
2 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
1 egg
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 red or yellow, or orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
Coriander, chopped
roasted peanuts (optional)
lime wedges

Success with these kinds of stir-fry noodle dishes depends on having all of your components washed, chopped and ready to go. It's fast cooking in a hot wok, after all, and it only takes a moment of neglect to burn. Prepare the sauce in a bowl in advance as well.

Once all of your veg is prepared, place the rice noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let the noodles steep until soft and pliable (1-2 mins.), drain, and then toss with 1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil. Heat over a high flame remaining sesame oil and vegetable oil in a wok or other shallow pan that can handle high heat.
Add the spring onion (reserving 1 Tbs. for garnish) and pepper, moving constantly. After 30 seconds, crack the egg (careful of stray shells, etc.) straight in and stir-fry, breaking up the yolk. When fried, add the sauce and toss in noodles and peanuts. Stir-fry a few seconds more, ensuring that everything is coated in sauce. Serve warm in shallow bowls, topped with coriander, reserved spring onions and lime wedges.

The noodles will be tangy, sweet, salty, and as spicy as you like, and the cucumbers are the perfect pairing--light, clean and picked, with just a hint of chili.

'Fancy' Tuna Salad. Tower optional.

So, this post was supposed to be about tuna and avocado. Instead, as you can clearly see, it's just about tuna. I sliced open my lonely avocado that I had patiently let ripen past the baseball stage--a rookie error in the UK, I soon found out--and found it riddled with fat brown veins.

I suppose one lives, one learns, and one gets over the fact that avocados here will never be as good as in the ones in the States.

I digress. Imagine gem-like pieces of avocado among the tomato, ok?

In high school, my French host mother in Biarritz often served me half and avocado with its cavity filled to the brim with tuna and mustardy mayonnaise. I'm sure the mayonnaise was homemade, and I shudder to think how little I appreciated it then. I have only recently warmed to it (I know, I know...), and I still can't stand it in its unadulterated form; chuck it in artichoke dip, with mountains of garlic in aioli, or pair it with ample ketchup and mustard for dipping with fries, and I'm very content to eat it.

As for this tuna salad, I was trying to keep things light, so I used a low-fat creamy salad dressing. Really, any vinaigrette or dressing would work. Mirin, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil could be good, as well. What I found really made this good was the minced coriander, chili, and yellow pepper. Along with some lime juice and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, it was refreshing and clean tasting, rather than overly creamy or heavy.

I can't lie; I missed the avocado, but mixed together with the tomato and served with some wholegrain pumpkin seed crispbread, it was dinner. Not so bad for cleaning out the cupboards on a Monday night.