Recently, I saw some really nice looking watercress and decided to get it. It was very tender and super peppery-bitter. Good stuff, actually. Then I had to figure out what to do with it.
I saw a couple of recipes, like this one that utilized wasabi and thought it might be fun trying it out. I started out with less wasabi….I used paste, with just watercress, and slowly changed ratios and ended up adding cucumbers and tomatoes. Once I added onions….but heck no; it already more than pungent enough!
Also, I started with lemon juice, but settled for rice vinegar in the end. Also, things really came around when I added some dark brown sugar.
This version does a nice job of clearing those sinuses, but still have enough savory-sweet-sour flavors.
It’s been a nice side dish during the recent hot spell.
Watercress Salad with Wasabi Dressing
Salad:
3 ounces Watercress – Rinse and drain well. Trim long stems and cut into edible pieces if necessary
2 ounces Cucumbers cut into 1 – 1 1/2 inch sticks.
3 ounces Cherry Tomatoes (optional) – Sliced in halves/quarters
Dressing:
1 Tsp – 1 Tb Wasabi Paste – depending on your desire for pungent – sinus clearing heat.
2 Tb Neutral Oil – I used Avocado Oil
2 Tb Soy Sauce – I used Kikkoman for this
1 Tsp Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tb Rice Vinegar
Dash of White Pepper (optional)
Dash of Granulated Garlic (optional)
- Combine vegetables and refrigerate.
- Place dressing ingredients into a small jar.
- Shake to mix well.
- Place vegetables in a mixing bowl, add dressing, combine and coat the vegetables.
- Serve. And clear those sinuses.
I love watercress and can rarely find it. Where did you find yours? I’m going to dupe this!
I usually get the wartercress from Nijiya, Tokyo Central, or 99 Ranch. But recently, I was in Zion and saw that they have Australian Watercress which is really tender Dereck! So that’s what I’ve been getting to make this.