First off, I want to thank Willow and Mara for the opportunity to say anything at all about food in the presence of their culinary artistry.  Second, full disclosure, I have been eating their creations since Mara used to give them to me in little Ball jars – which I would hide from my children so I didn’t have to share.  So, I’m not just a fan but a long-time Superfan.

Okay, that said, here is an easy way to make salad dressing from the juice left over in the kim chi jar when you have finished eating it out of the container with a fork before breakfast. The juice has lots of goodies in it, so aside from drinking it straight while no one is looking – you should share the love.

All the juice left in the jar

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons lemongrass, fresh, chopped

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons fish sauce (not necessary if you are vegetarian)

Shake it all up in the jar.

If you want to use it on a salad, here is what I do – no amounts necessary here, as it really works with whatever you have.

Lettuce or spinach

Fresh mint

Fresh cilantro

Fresh basil

Sprouts of some denomination or another

Chopped cucumbers

Grated Carrot

Dressing above

Cooked rice noodles

Protein of some kind (steak, tofu, chicken, whatever you have around)

Make a huge salad with all your veggies.  Arrange the cooked rice noodles at the bottom of a bowl.  Put as much salad as you can in the bowl.  Top with the protein of choice.  Pour the dressing over the salad and eat.

This salad originated as a recipe for Asian steak salad that my friend Jen cut out of a magazine and then I took a picture of the clipping and it was on my phone till I lost it.  This is what I came up with after all that, when I was hungry and had some of the dressing made with the kim chi juice left over in my fridge.  It fed a hungry teenage boy happily (with steak) and me (with tofu) proving universal appeal.