We were all starving. Quick dinner time. I tossed a pot of rice on the stove, and pulled out what I needed for stir fried sesame chicken with shitake mushrooms and celery. I wanted a salad that would work with the stir fry, and a jar of hoisin sauce sitting in the door of the fridge caught my eye. I grabbed mint, daikon, scallions, mushrooms, and my hand picked mixed greens, which included a hefty amount of mizuna.

Ingredients:

(Side salad, serves four.)

6 cups of mixed greens, including mizuna, red leaf lettuce, radicchio, and frisee.

4 inch piece of daikon, sliced.

3-4 scallions, sliced.

2 large mushrooms, halved and sliced.

1 generous fistful of fresh mint, chopped.

Hoisin Rice Wine Vinaigrette with Ginger:

(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a couple of days.)

1 T hoisin sauce.

1 T rice wine vinegar.

2 T extra virgin olive oil.

2 inch knob of young ginger, chopped.

1 clove of garlic, smashed and minced.

1/4 tsp maple syrup.

1 pinch of salt.

I mixed up the vinaigrette right away, tasting it as I went to make sure the flavors were working together. Then I prepared a bed of greens. I chopped all the vegetables and added them to the bowl. When the rice and stir fry were done cooking, my salad was ready to be dressed and tossed.

The Verdict:

This was incredible. It helps that I absolutely adore hoisin sauce with mint. The daikon added perfect crunch and that yummy peppery flavor, and the mushrooms soaked up the vinaigrette like the tasty little sponges that they are. It was a little too weird for the kids, but my husband and I ate every bit of it. Absolutely perfect.

Make it a Meal:

Add your protein of choice — I highly recommend leftover steak, sliced over the top of the salad. Beef and hoisin and mint together are mouth wateringly delicious. Simple chicken or grilled shrimp will also work well. For vegetarian options, I think tofu would be a great addition, or shelled edamame, or green beans, or snow peas.

Pack it to Go:

This one is easy. Salad in a large glass or stainless steel container with a tupperware-style lid, vinaigrette in a small jar. Shake vinaigrette, drizzle only as much as you need on the salad, and then fork toss or put the lid back on the large container and give it a few good shakes to combine. Eat and enjoy.