Carolina Kitchen

Marinated Asian Ramen Salad

This cold salad offers a variety of textures, making a unique side dish. Feeding a crowd or in the mood for leftovers? The size of this recipe fits the bill! Plan to create a day ahead so the ramen has time to soak in the savory dressing. Salad 2 packages (3 ounces) ramen noodles (vegetable or chicken) 1 bag (8 ounces) snow peas, blanched and drained 1 bag (12 ounces) broccoli slaw, large pieces of broccoli cut small 2 stalks celery, cut into ¼-inch pieces 1 bag (8 ounces) frozen shelled edamame, cooked per instructions 1 bunch scallions, cut into ½-inch pieces Dressing ¾ cup vegetable oil (we used sunflower) ¹/₃ cup rice vinegar ¼ cup sugar or honey 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons sesame oil 3–4 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1 slice fresh ginger (about an inch), grated 1 package ramen noodle seasoning Pinch salt Garnish ½ cup salted peanuts ½ cup toasted sunflower seeds ½ cup sesame sticks Break up noodles and put in bottom of a large bowl. Mix together remaining salad ingredients. Combine all dressing ingredients and toss with salad. Pour over noodles. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. At serving time, toss, garnish and enjoy! Yield: 8–12 servings

Mango Marmalade Fool

With gingersnap crumble Traditionally, a “fool” is an English dessert of puréed fruit folded into custard. Take a shortcut and throw together our 10-minute contemporary version that uses whipped cream instead of the more labor-intensive custard. Nibble at this light dessert alongside our crispy fried shrimp toast and Asian salad. Also fun for little chefs to make! 1 box (10 ounces) gingersnap cookies 1 cup heavy whipping cream 4 large ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced (1 cup puréed) 2 heaping tablespoons orange marmalade Juice of half an orange Zest of half an orange

Roughly crumble the cookies in zippered bag using rolling pin or can (about 2 cups crumbs) and set aside.

Whip the cream to medium peak stage.

Dice ¼ cup of the sliced mango and set aside. Purée remaining mango in processor with marmalade and juice.

Line up four dessert bowls (approximately 6 ounces each) and drizzle a tablespoon of purée mixture in bottom of each. Divide crumbs in dishes over drizzle, saving a bit for garnish.

Set aside ½ cup of the whipped cream and fold remaining cream together with purée.

Spoon purée-cream mixture over crumbs. Top each with 1 tablespoon of diced mango. Put a dollop of the saved whipped cream on top. Garnish with crumbs and orange zest.

Chill at least an hour until ready to serve.

Yield: Serves 4 Digital Extra We take food seriously. Visit carolinacountry.com/recipes to search more than 1,000 recipes by name or ingredient, with a new recipe featured every week!

Unless otherwise noted, recipes on these pages are from Wendy Perry, a culinary adventurist and blogger, who chats about goodness around NC on her blog at WendysHomeEconomics.com.

Crispy Fried Sesame Shrimp Toast (pictured above) If you like to add shrimp toast to your Chinese take-out order, it probably never crossed your mind to make it. But this crispy appetizer is not hard to make — you can even prepare the paste, freeze and fry up a fresh batch anytime the notion strikes you. 1 cup plain panko breadcrumbs ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds ½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (washed and dried) 1 egg white 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari 4–5 scallions, chopped 1 teaspoon cornstarch 3 cloves garlic, sliced ¼ cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed, plus extra for garnish 2 teaspoons sesame oil 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 1 teaspoon sugar

Pinch of salt 6 slices white bread*

Vegetable oil for frying

Pepper jelly, duck sauce or sweet chili pepper sauce (optional for serving) Combine breadcrumbs with sesame seeds and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients (except bread and oil) in processor. Pulse into a smooth paste. Divide paste among the 6 slices of bread and spread evenly to edges. Sprinkle with crumb mixture and lightly press into paste. Cut each piece diagonally into 4 triangles. Add about ¹/₈-inch oil into a cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Gently place pieces of toast into hot oil, crumb side down. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Gently turn with spatula and fry the other side for about 1 minute. Place on paper towels to drain. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately alongside warmed pepper jelly, duck sauce or sweet chili pepper sauce. *We used sliced Hawaiian bread for fun and a bit of sweetness.

From Your Kitchen

Beef With Black Pepper This simple and delicious beef dish from Sri Lanka does not call for the trademark curry powder and spices used in most Sri Lankan dishes. To manage heat, this recipe uses a seeded jalapeño pepper instead of the traditional hot red chilies. You can also adjust the black pepper. Typically served with rice or bread, it can be served with naan as well. 2 pounds beef cut into 2-inch strips 2 teaspoons ground black pepper ½ teaspoon turmeric

Salt to taste ¼ cup water 2 tablespoons oil (we used olive oil) 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 slice of ginger, about an inch, chopped 1 medium onion, sliced 1 medium tomato, sliced ½ teaspoon black pepper Salt to taste 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and cut into strips lengthwise In a saucepan, combine beef, black pepper, turmeric, salt and water and sauté over medium heat until beef is cooked. There should be very little gravy. Remove from heat.

In another saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat and add garlic, ginger, onion, tomato, black pepper and salt and cook until onions are tender. Next add the prepared beef and cook for another 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: about 7–8 servings

Recipe courtesy of Champa Codipilly of West End, a member of Pee Dee Electric.

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