Recipe of the week

The salad below delivers “a classic Southeast Asian flavor combination”: sweet, hot, and savory, said J. Kenji López-Alt in The New York Times. Feel free to swap out the watermelon for other summer fruit. But try to use palm sugar rather than brown and make the effort to find fried shallots at an Asian store. Fried shallots are a staple condiment of Southeast Asian cuisine, and keeping the ready-made variety on hand is “a move that can infuse so many dishes with flavor and crunch.”

Watermelon salad with fried shallots and fish sauce

4 medium garlic cloves • 2 to 12 fresh Thai bird’s-eye chiles, stems trimmed • 3 tbsp palm sugar • ¼ cup fish sauce • 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice • ½ cup storebought fried shallots • 3 lbs seedless watermelon, rind removed, cut into 1-inch chunks • ½ small red onion, thinly sliced • 1 small cucumber, halved lengthwise and cut into ½-inch slices • large handful of roughly chopped mint leaves • large handful of roughly chopped cilantro leaves • ½ cup crushed or chopped roasted peanuts

• Combine garlic, chiles, and sugar in bowl of a large mortar and pestle. Pound into a paste. Add fish sauce and stir with pestle until sugar is dissolved. Add lime juice and stir with pestle to incorporate.

• Toast shallots dry in a large skillet over medium-low heat until deep caramel brown and aromatic, about 3 minutes.

Season generously with salt and transfer to a small bowl.

• In a large bowl, combine melon, onion, cucumber, mint, cilantro, peanuts, half the fried shallots, and ¼ cup dressing. Toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing as desired. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with remaining shallots. Serves 4