QUICK FIX Ginger, soy sauce and cabbage merge flavors in unique salad



A layer of finely crushed peanuts completes the package.
By RENEE SCHETTLER
WASHINGTON POST
The first time I ordered the ginger salad at Spices Restaurant in Washington, others at the table looked longingly when it arrived piled high atop a gleaming hammered metal platter.
So I obligingly passed it around. And immediately regretted it. Beneath a smattering of finely crushed peanuts was a jumble of tastes and textures -- crinkly shredded pale green cabbage interspersed with thin, wavy slices of pink pickled ginger root and the vibrant orange of julienned carrots -- dressed in a refreshingly sweet-tart dressing. I had all of two bites.The solution seemed to be to return solo to Spices. And I did. But each time the salad tasted slightly different. Efforts to replicate it at home left me frustratingly close but disappointed. Lime juice was a gimme. But was that sweetness palm sugar or plain old Domino's? And did I detect a splash of soy?
Chef William Tu has made the salad almost every day since Spices opened 11 years ago. Given the prominence of pickled ginger root at the sushi bar, Tu and the other chefs started working on the concept of a ginger salad. They tried everything. "Somehow we found that cabbage goes well with ginger," said Tu.
At first they put a lot of stuff in it. A mistake. "We tried to make it simple and not too fancy."
The trick, Tu acknowledges, as he gave me the recipe, is to set aside the salad long enough to allow the dressing to penetrate the ingredients. But not so long, I'd like to add, that the salad can sit around and wilt. Or be snatched by others.
GINGER SALAD
In a bowl, whisk together about 2 ounces of peeled, grated ginger, 3/4 cup lime juice, 3/4 cup sugar, a pinch of ground ginger and a splash of soy sauce. Taste and, if desired, add more soy. (Chef William Tu uses quite a lot more.)
Toss together 1 small head of thinly sliced green cabbage, 1 peeled and julienned carrot and a generous amount of jarred, drained pickled ginger root. Drizzle the dressing over the vegetables and toss for at least a minute or two. Scatter some finely crushed peanuts over the salad. (Tu says this should serve 4, but that's for you to decide.)
The ginger salad ($6) at Spices Restaurant serves one comfortably and two sparingly, but no more than that.

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