Selada

Cucumber and Egg Salad

(Selada)

SERVES 4

This refreshing salad is commonly served at Minangkabau wedding ceremonies in Indonesia. Hard-to-find ingredients can be found at your local Asian market.

5 pickling cucumbers, peeled, trimmed, and
thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Peanut oil
2 medium waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly
sliced
4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled, whites and yolks
separated, both sliced
1 oz. raw shrimp chips, fried (Krispy Kritters)
1/2 oz. raw melinjo nut chips, fried (Krispy Kritters)

1. Toss cucumbers and 1 tsp. of the salt in a colander and set aside to drain for 1 hour. Meanwhile, pour oil into a deep skillet to a depth of 1" and heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in 2 batches, fry potatoes, stirring often, until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Fry shallots in same oil, stirring often, until deep golden and crisp, 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

2. Put vinegar, pepper, sugar, and the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt into a medium bowl. Squeeze out excess water from cucumbers, add to bowl, and toss well. Scatter egg whites over cucumbers, then scatter yolks, then potatoes, then shallots on top. Set salad aside at room temperature for 1 hour. Garnish each serving with fried shrimp and melinjo nut chips and serve with Steamed White Rice, if you like.
First published in Saveur, March 2002

Dan's notes: nice. Buy raw shrimp chips and fry them, it's awesome, they puff up super-fast. This got greasy, but just because I didn't really know how to fry the potatoes.