Except for the mayonnaise, this Asian-inspired slaw is very un-Southern. The combination of flavors and colors makes a grand addition to any summer picnic. Mirin is a sweet, low-alcohol rice wine, essentially “cooking sake.” Believe it or not, soy sauce actually did make it into Meme’s kitchen. She was once featured in an article in the local newspaper, and, I suppose, thinking her simple country recipes were not appropriate for the “big time,” she included a recipe for her stir-fry. It was a combination of broccoli, carrots, and snow peas, with soy sauce as a seasoning. The recipe might have been “exotic” back then, but Meme’s stir-fry technique was pure South: the vegetables cooked for a very un-stir-fry length of time—20 minutes!

　　

Ingredients

serves 4 to 6

　　1/4 cup mayonnaise (page 282)

　　2 tablespoons rice vinegar

　　1 tablespoon mirin

　　1 tablespoon soy sauce

　　Juice of 1 lemon

　　1 small jalapeño chile, seeded and very finely chopped

　　1/2 English (hothouse) cucumber, partially peeled (to form vertical stripes of green peel and white flesh)

　　1/4 small head red cabbage, cored and very finely shredded

　　1/4 small head napa (Chinese) cabbage, very finely shredded

　　4 red, icicle, or French Breakfast radishes, trimmed and very thinly sliced

　　2 carrots, grated

　　1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips

　　2 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

　　2 tablespoons sesame seed, preferably black

　　Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

To make the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, rice vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, lemon juice, and jalapeño in a small bowl. Set aside.

　　

Step 2

To prepare the salad, halve the cucumber lengthwise and scrape off the seeds with a teaspoon. Slice the cucumber into 1/8-inch thick half-moons. Place the slices in a large bowl. Add the red and napa cabbages, radishes, carrots, red pepper, green onions, and sesame seed. Pour over just enough dressing to lightly coat. Season with salt and pepper and toss well to combine. Serve immediately.

　　

sesame seed

Step 3

Sesame seed was brought to America by African slaves, whose word for it, benne, became part of the vernacular in the American South, specifically in the Low Country around Charleston, South Carolina. Black, brown, and even red sesame seed is available, but the most common color is a pale ivory-yellow. I like to use black when I want to make a bold visual statement. Sesame seed has a nutty, sweet flavor and is used in both sweet and savory cooking. (Mama, oddly enough, dislikes it so much that she picks the seeds off of her hamburger bun.)

　　From Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories From Three Generations of Southern Cooking, © 2008 by Virginia Willis. Reprinted by permission of Ten Speed Press. Buy the full book from Amazon or Abe Books.