Grilled Vegetable and Rice Salad with Fish-Sauce Vinaigrette

By LRay

Grilled Vegetable and Rice Salad with Fish-Sauce Vinaigrette

Pelaccio's twist on northeastern Malaysia's rice salad is meant to be served over the grains. (He prefers jasmine.) The smoky grilled vegetables are enlivened by a generous final flourish of fresh herbs.

4-6 servings

Recipe by Zakary Pelaccio

Photograph by Tuukka Koski

July 2012

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
• Vegetable oil
• 12 okra pods
• 3 ears of corn, shucked
• 2 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, centers scooped out
• 2 long red chiles (such as Holland or Anaheim), stemmed
• 1 small eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1" slices
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from bonappetit.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation

Salad

Preheat oven to 250 °. Spread out coconut (if using) on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring often, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool on pan.

Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Brush grill grates with oil. Meanwhile, combine okra, corn, zucchini, chiles, eggplant, and salt in a large bowl; drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Grill vegetables (use a grill basket if you have one), turning frequently, until crisp-tender and lightly charred, about 8 minutes. Place chiles in a medium bowl; cover tightly with plastic to let steam for easy peeling. Set chiles aside for dressing.

Cut corn kernels from cobs; place in a large bowl. Cut zucchini and eggplant into irregular 1" pieces; place in bowl with corn. Trim any tough tops from okra and cut okra in half lengthwise; add to bowl. Set aside.

Dressing and Assembly

Peel or scrape off charred skin from chiles and discard. Purée chiles (with seeds) and garlic in a food processor or mash with a mortar and pestle until a coarse paste forms. Add sugar and process or pound until dissolved. Stir in fish sauce and lime juice.

Drizzle dressing over warm vegetables; add herbs and toasted coconut (if using); toss well.

Scoop steamed rice onto a platter and top with salad.

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