Secret Asian Man

The title is a loose link, I admit. But everytime I hear that song "Secret agent man" I hear it as.... well, I think the title gives it away.

What salad goes with asian food? Sean and I (mostly me) have high salad needs. I love a "good salad" as my Mom calls them. Greens are almost always the main component. However, we recently had the Asian Pesto Chicken Salad from Ming's cookbook (thanks again, Corner Pocket Callaways).. That gorgeous, yummy salad sits on a bed of arugula, so there is no need for another course of leafy greens.

We happened to have a bunch of herbs on hand for the pesto, and I had thoughtfully grabbed a couple of cucumbers earlier in the week, so I came up with this concoction. Adjust each ingredient as you see fit.

Asian Cucumber Salad

2-3 cucumbers, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded with a spoon
1-2 T chopped mint
1-2 T chopped cilantro
1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar (or plain r. w. vinegar plus a pinch of sugar)
dash oil
salt and pepper

Slice the peeled, seeded cukes into half moons and place in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, saving the salt for the end to adjust according to palate. Feel free to substitute szechuan peppercorns, lightly toasted and coarsely ground.