Greetings from sunny and humid Orlando, FL. Today’s diary was inspired by a remark from WYgalinCali about how she was making a watermelon-jicama salad to cool off from the heat in California (~100 degree temps). So, let’s start with that!
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, plus 1 teaspoon zest
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus 1 teaspoon zest
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Kosher salt
- 1 jicama, cut into matchstick pieces
- 4 cups watermelon in 2-inch chunks
- 1/3 cup roughly torn fresh mint leaves
Whisk together juices, honey, pepper and salt in a large bowl. Add the jicama, watermelon and mint and toss to coat.
Jicama and Watermelon Salad
Maybe jicama isn’t your thing; this Malaysian watermelon salad recipe definitely looks like something you could find at a roadside kedai makan (without the bacon), or at a food court.
- Bring 1 1/2 cups of seasoned rice vinegar to a boil in a saucepan, and mix in the 2 pieces of crushed ginger root, shallots, red pepper flakes, 1/4 cup of light brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir until the brown sugar and salt have dissolved, and remove from heat. Place watermelon rind into a large heatproof nonreactive bowl, and strain the pickling liquid through a fine mesh strainer into the watermelon rind. Stir to combine, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
- Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop the bacon into pieces when cooled.
- For dressing, place 1/2 cup of peeled and chopped ginger, garlic, lime juice, 1 cup of seasoned rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and cilantro stems in a blender. Blend on high speed, scraping down blender sides occasionally, until the ginger and cilantro stems are pulverized and the dressing is thoroughly blended.
- To assemble, place about 1 cup of watermelon cubes onto a salad plate, and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Top with about 2 tablespoons of the pickled rind, 1 to 2 tablespoons of bacon bits, 1 tablespoon of cilantro leaves, and about 1/2 tablespoon of chopped green onion, or to taste.
Malaysian Watermelon Salad
Some people add salt to their watermelon; it’s an acquired taste and not for everyone, but according to this article there’s some truth to it:
Salt makes watermelon taste sweeter by creating a salty sweet contrast that allows the sweetness of the melon to stand out. Watermelon often has a subtle sweetness to it because so much of it is water, unlike a strawberry or other fruit where the flavor seems to be very concentrated and intense, so giving the sweetness a bit of salt to stand up against makes it seem much bolder. Salt also makes you salivate, which will make the watermelon seem even juicier than it is on its own.
Personally, I’d experiment a bit more and add a bit of dried plum powder to watermelon. It works quite well with guava:
Guava is a popular snack in Taiwan, sold on many street corners and night markets during hot weather, accompanied by packets of dried plum powder mixed with sugar and salt for dipping. In east Asia, guava is commonly eaten with sweet and sour dried plum powder mixtures. Guava juice is popular in many countries. The fruit is also often prepared in fruit salads.
No diary on watermelons would be complete without a reference to Watermelon Man. Enjoy! 😋